Deforestation

Deforestation near Guatemala’s border with Belize.

Photo credit: Sergio Izquierdo

Tropical forests absorb more carbon than any other kind of forest. They also provide shelter, food, and livelihoods to millions of Indigenous and local people, while housing two-thirds of the world’s biodiversity. But we are losing them at an alarming pace (mostly to agriculture): In 2019, we lost a football pitch of tropical forest every six seconds. Stopping deforestation and forest degradation in the tropics is critical to the survival of humanity.

This page features information about the Rainforest Alliance's work to stop tropical deforestation and links to all our related content and resources.

Stopping deforestation in the tropics has been at the heart of the Rainforest Alliance’s mission since its founding more than 35 years ago. Working with companies, civil society organizations, and local governments—all while centering the voices of the rural communities we partner with—we promote community forestry and regenerative agriculture throughout the tropics. Our decades of experience have demonstrated that these are the most effective strategies to keep forests standing and restore biodiversity.

Quick Links

Deforestation position paper

This paper outlines our principles and strategies for stopping deforestation (and other forms of ecosystem conversion) in vulnerable tropical regions.

Forest Allies

Learn how joining our Forest Allies community of practice will help your company have a greater impact on forests.

Seven agricultural commodities linked to deforestation

World Resources Institute (WRI) estimates the extent to which seven commodities—oil palm, soy, cattle, plantation wood fiber, cocoa, coffee, and plantation rubber—are replacing forests, and maps their impacts.

Rights-Based Conservation: The path to preserving Earth’s biological and cultural diversity?

This Rights and Resources Initiative report examines the potential of community rights-based conservation to prevent biodiversity collapse.

Our Work: Deforestation

All resources for Deforestation

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Annual Report

2022 Annual Report: We’re all in.

Dive into our 2022 Annual Report—and discover the extraordinary people and places at the heart of our global mission. We’re all in. Are you?... View more


Available in: English, Spanish, German, French, Japanese

Project Profiles

Project Profile: The Business Case for Collective Landscape Action

Through this initiative, the Rainforest Alliance will work with several organizations to address global environmental challenges associated with commodity-driven deforestation in some of the world’s most important tropical ecosystems and sourcing regions.

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