This June 22, on World Rainforest Day, join rainforest guardians, environmental champions, and other change-makers to learn how we can all drive holistic impact to protect and restore standing rainforests and ensure that these vital ecosystems keep storing carbon dioxide and regulating the Earth’s climate for generations to come.
The virtual World Rainforest Day Global Summit—free and open to the public—will feature those on the frontlines of forest protection to foster dialogue, build solutions, celebrate action and facilitate collaboration across sectors and around the world to uplift and protect rainforests. With 16 hours of programming and networking opportunities, the Summit offers something for everyone. See all speakers and partners, and register here.
Why World Rainforest Day Matters
Now, more than ever, we must protect our planet’s standing rainforests. If we are going to change the course of the dual existential crises of biodiversity loss and climate change, there is no time to waste. Recent reports from the United Nations IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) call for “the conservation, management, and restoration of forests, with reduced deforestation in tropical regions having the highest total mitigation”. Our tropical rainforests are nearing a tipping point, and the next eight years are decisive. We must act NOW. Holistic, urgent forest protection is critical to securing the future of our planet. It’s a now-or-never situation that demands us to act now.
Rainforests will play a major role in changing the course of our climate
“Rainforests” are all forests that get continuous and abundant rainfall all year round. They are found in every continent on Earth, except Antarctica. Mostly filled in with evergreen trees and plants, they release water into the atmosphere, making them fundamental in regulating global water flow, climate, and local weather patterns, as well as in providing water to entire continents.
Tropical rainforests stand out among other rainforests, because almost half of the world’s biodiversity is found in rainforests. They are home to millions of people, and they provide ingredients for products we use every day, like medicines, shampoo, coffee, and chocolate. Of all the forests in the world, tropical rainforests are the most effective in sequestering and storing carbon, making them essential to the mitigation of climate change.
However, they are also some of the most threatened ecosystems, especially by deforestation and fires, which are, additionally, major contributors to climate change.
Since tropical rainforests have such a major impact on climate mitigation, biodiversity preservation, people’s livelihoods, the global economy, and the regulation of the water cycle— and are at the same time in peril due to the constant threat of economically-driven deforestation by industries like timber, gold, palm oil, and soy —it is extremely important that we come together to protect them. Having a day specifically dedicated to these ecosystems ensures that the need to protect them is emphasized, and it further reinforces the need to preserve all forests around the globe.
So by celebrating World Rainforest Day we celebrate the beauty and importance of these ecosystems and we spark actions to preserve them for generations to come.
How can you take action to protect rainforests?
It can feel overwhelming to think about how each of us as an individual can contribute to issues as complex as rainforest conservation and climate change. But don’t worry, it is much simpler than it seems. To help guide you in this endeavor and make it a bit easier for you, we’ve assembled a simple, four-step guide to protect rainforests.
The first step in protecting rainforests is to stay informed. By that, we mean that you stay informed about why our planet's rainforests are so important, what their role in climate change is, the threats that rainforests face, the different policies and decisions that affect the future of rainforests, and what your pathways to rainforest impact are.
Graphic image or tropical leaves with the text: 4-step guide to rainforest conservation with smaller icons of book with text Stay Informed, berries with text Make Choices, two hands with text Engage and bullhorn with text Share
The second step is to make forest-friendly choices. This means that you make thoughtful consumption and lifestyle choices that don't harm rainforests. A couple of examples of these choices are eating a plant-rich diet with less beef in it, and choosing products that have no palm oil, or products that support sustainable palm oil production.
The third step is to engage. Engage with your community to support rainforests by voting for people who support rainforest protection and holding them accountable, and by supporting the work of organizations that protect our planet's rainforests. You can do this by donating and/or volunteering, for example.
Graphic image of tropical leaves and berries with the text: Make Forest Friendly Choices with smaller text: Make thoughtful consumption and lifestyle choices that don't harm rainforests. A few examples: 1st bullet point: Eating a plant-rich diet with less beef, 2nd bullet point: Choosing projects that have no palm oil, or those that suport sustainable palm oil production.
The fourth and final step is to share. Share what you learn with friends, family, and your community, so we can join forces to protect our most valuable ecosystems! Everyone has a role to play in safeguarding the future of our planet.
Join the movement to protect rainforests and ensure a thriving future for our planet:
- Visit the World Rainforest Day website to learn more.
- Click here to learn more about some of the people and organizations who work tirelessly to ensure that our planet’s most valuable resources and ecosystems are protected.
- Sign up for Rainforest Partnership newsletters here!
We look forward to seeing you there!
