Forests & Biodiversity

A force for planetary health

What's at Stake

Forests are critical to every living thing on Earth. Not only do they give us clean air, shelter, and rain, they house 80 percent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity. Alarmingly, humans have destroyed half of the world’s tropical forests and driven extinction rates up thousands of times higher than what is natural.

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Climate & Nature

Forests are a powerful natural climate solution. As trees grow, they absorb and store carbon emissions, while releasing oxygen into the atmosphere. Conserving forests could cut an estimated 7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide each year—the equivalent of getting rid of every car on the planet.

Our Impact

Protecting forests and biodiversity is at the very heart of the Rainforest Alliance’s mission. We have developed wide-ranging, innovative strategies to conserve and restore nature—all while improving the livelihoods of people who live from the land.

Strong Forests

0.4% deforestation rate

in the forest concessions of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala*

In Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve, twelve community forestry concessions safeguard around 417,269 hectares of the largest and most important tropical forest north of the Amazon. These community-run concessions boast a near-zero deforestation rate—a remarkable feat given that adjacent areas suffer some of the highest deforestation rates in the Americas.

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*Community forestry concessions in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve have demonstrated a near-zero deforestation rate, since data collection began in 2000. Data accurate as of December 2019.

Thriving Biodiversity

45,000 trees

80 elephant-friendly farms*

From 2020 through 2021, farmers we work with in the buffer zone of Indonesia’s Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park planted 45,000 trees in the area directly bordering the park. In addition, we identified 80 farms that sit in a wildlife corridor used by the critically endangered Sumatran elephant. We supported these farmers in planting species that suit the elephants’ diet.

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*Data accurate as of December 2022

Our Work: Forests & Biodiversity

Together with forest and farming communities, Indigenous leaders, companies, governments, and global citizens, the Rainforest Alliance works in 58 countries to promote more sustainable land management practices while cultivating thriving rural economies—the most widely proven strategy to restore biodiversity and keep our tropical forests standing.

All resources for Forests & Biodiversity

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Media Coverage

As rainforests worldwide disappear, burn and degrade, a summit to protect them opens in Brazzaville

| Associated Press News

Emmanuelle Bérenge, Lead Sustainable Forest Management at the Rainforest Alliance, emphasizes that the Three Basin Summit provides a vital chance to translate the multitude of commitments that have been made in the past around preserving and restoring the world’s forests into initiatives and policies that can genuinely make a difference.

Article

Tropical Forests in Our Daily Lives

Think of tropical forests as faraway places that have nothing to do with your daily life? Think again. You rely on forests more than you know.

Annual Report

Forest Allies 2022 Annual Report

Learn about the outcomes and impacts of our Forest Allies Initiative. This 2022 annual report summarizes the activities and progress of the Forest Allies initiative and includes the results of our... View more


Available in: English