Our 360°approach to rainforest conservation

The Challenge

Many rainforest communities don't have access to stable sources of income or critical resources such as food security, clean water, or education. 

Oftentimes, the economic livelihood options available drive local deforestation, such as cattle ranching. And, without economic independence and security, communities have fewer options and are thus more vulnerable to threats like the encroachment of extractive industries on indigenous lands or illegal logging and  mining. 

Communities with access to critical resources and stable income are better equipped to conserve, manage, and restore the forest and protect their lands.

Our Solutions

Economic problems call for economic solutions. ‍

We work with communities and community groups like youth and women’s associations to build sustainable options to generate income so they can support themselves and their families and expand the resources available to them.

This is a critical first step that makes conservation projects viable in the long run.

Our sustainable livelihood projects have ranged from supporting the creation of Sani Warmi, a women's artisan crafts organization in the Ecuadorian Amazon, to ecotourism in communities in the Tropical Andes, to sustainable production of coffee, cacao, and acai in both the Amazon and Tropical Andes.

We organize and coordinate workshops to strengthen community capacities to generate income, support their access markets to effectively sell products, and provide technical support when needed. 

Creating Long Term Impact

Supporting sustainable livelihoods is absolutely critical-- and too often overlooked. This prong is key to building a foundation for resilient conservation programs that produce lasting results.

Sustainable livelihood projects build:

- Economic security and stability for local and indigenous communities 

- Economic independence for women 

- Increased community resources like education or healthcare

- Strengthened community capacities to protect and manage their lands and rights

The Challenge

Without robust research and data, conservation policies and management are weak and inefficient; science and research can be powerful tools to advocate for and implement forest and biodiversity conservation.

In many forested regions, there is very little to no available research and information about local ecosystems or wildlife, making science-based policy decisions difficult.

Our Solutions

We use scientific research to inform  effective conservation.

With the help of partners, we perform biodiversity assessments, publish academic research papers, and create data-backed action plans to support conservation policy grounded in research. In regions with little to no available research information, we establish foundational data and encourage future research. This research informs conservation plans and fosters deeper connections between forest landscapes and the people living there.

For example, we've studied and led scientific expeditions to explore, understand and record the unique biodiversity in the Cordillera de Colan and other parts of the Tropical Andes, focusing on threatened amphibians and reptiles.

Our biodiversity research team has discovered numerous species new to western science, including 10 potential new species discoveries in 2022 alone!

Creating Long Term Impact

Simply put, conducting conservation research leads to:

-Improved conservation of endangered and key species 

-Strategic conservation policies and effective implementation

-Effective long term management of protected areas

-Successful restoration of deforested areas and healthy ecosystems

The Challenge

Deforestation and biodiversity loss are caused by cattle ranching, agriculture, oil, mining, urbanization, forest fires, and more. Habitat fragmentation and degradation, water pollution, and unsustainable resource management threaten and endanger thousands of species; huge areas of forest are cut down every day.

Our Solutions

In collaboration with local and indigenous communities, we lead a diverse range of conservation, restoration, and biodiversity management programs that conserve forests, restore degraded forest, and protect the many endangered and vulnerable species that live within these them-- from Andean spectacled bears, frogs and butterflies to the immense diversity of bird, amphibian, insect, and plant life that live across the Amazon and Tropical Andes biodiversity hotspots.

Many projects also include restoration and regeneration of degraded forest landscapes, land and resource management plans, monitoring and more.

Creating Long Term Impact

This prong is often what people imagine:
- Sustainable management of forest ecosystems

-Long term successful management and protection of local and regional biodiversity

-Protection of endangered species

- Ecological stability and community resilience 

- More tropical forest available to act as critical carbon sinks

The Challenge

Local, regional, and national conservation policy and management plans for protected areas are critical to the long-term protection of forests and biodiversity. But implementation of those policies is equally important and can be challenging when training is inaccessible to many government offices and organizations leading implementation on the ground.

Local and regional governments and organizations often need support to expand their conservation knowledge, skills, and resources, to effectively implement their policies and plans. Many local and indigenous communities also lack legal rights to their lands making conservation, restoration, and management difficult.

Our Solutions

We work closely with governments at all levels, organizations, and conservation areas to support their work crafting effective conservation policy, creating and implementing land and resource plans, and collaborating with communities and organizations to conserve and restore forests.

We maintain strong relationships with our partners and support them with capacity building workshops, courses, and resources to ensure successful and long term implementation of these policies and plans.

For example, we are working with the University of Florida and Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador to train park rangers across Ecuador in biodiversity monitoring and environmental education, strengthening conservation of the country’s National Parks. We also have supported action plans for the conservation of endangered primates and worked with partners to establish and manage protected areas for conservation.

The long-term impact

Our relationships with our government and organizational partners is absolutely key and invaluable to the success of our joint conservation efforts; all of these long term impacts are possible because of their partnership and leadership:

- Long term and durable implementation of conservation plans and policies

- Empowered governments, local leaders, and organizations with increased capacity to lead long term conservation 

- Institutionalized land stewardship and conservation

-Increased government support and resources for conservation and communities

- Protected areas with maintained water sources, healthy ecosystems and habitats, protection of biodiversity, and sustained carbon sinks

The Challenge

While many live far from tropical rainforests, the global economy connects us all to the forest, no matter where we live. 

Global consumption of everything from oil to coffee, beef, palm oil and chocolate, are major causes of deforestation. Governments and companies around the world are major drivers of deforestation in the Amazon, for example, and the biodiversity loss and destruction of community lands that occurs in tandem.

At the same time, feelings of disconnection and powerlessness hold us back from our vision of a zero deforestation world with a balanced climate and thriving biodiversity.

Our Solutions

We tackle these global challenges by leading bold and creative global initiatives to energize, educate, mobilize, and connect people all around the world. Our programs raise awareness and engage a diverse range of audiences, from filmmakers to youth, from the private sector to governments, organizations, and individuals.

We are building a diverse and widespread coalition of rainforest partners working together to ensure a better future for forests and climate.

We tell stories and project hope into the world; with every film, event, and connection we make, we drive people to action, driving global movement towards our collective goal of a zero deforestation world.

- World Rainforest Day (WRD), launched by Rainforest Partnership in 2017 as an annual day, June 22nd, is celebrated to focus on the outsized role rainforests play on the planet’s well-being. We partner with organizations, private companies, and governments all over the world to drive the conversation around protecting tropical rainforests.

- Films for the Forest (F3) is an annual global filmmaking challenge that offers artists, NGOs, educators, and the general public a platform to engage and think about their shared responsibility to conserve the planet. Over the years, F3 has received film submissions spanning all seven continents.

- Gen Z for the Trees (Z4T), started in 2020, leverages the energy and power of youth activism to move towards their groundbreaking goal of net-zero deforestation by 2030.

Creating Long Term Impact

We target the root causes of deforestation from the top-down as well as from the ground up. We need all of us working together to tackle these global challenges.

We are building a diverse and widespread coalition of rainforest partners working together to ensure a better future for forests and climate.

We tell stories and project hope into the world. With every film, event, and connection we make, we drive people to action, driving global movement towards our collective goal of a Zero Deforestation World.