Every year an area of rainforest the size of England and Wales is cut down.  This leaves local people homeless, drives animals and plants to extinction and releases more CO2 emissions, which cause climate change, than all of the world’s planes, trains and cars.

The Rainforest Foundation tackles deforestation locally and globally. Locally it helps forest communities to gain land rights, challenge logging companies and manage forests for their own wellbeing and protection of their environment. Globally it campaigns to influence national and international laws to protect rainforests and their inhabitants.

The Rainforest Foundation’s approach differs from that of other organisations in that it is committed to both human rights and environmental protection.  From the start the Rainforest Foundation believed that the best way to protect the rainforests is to let the indigenous people who have inhabited the areas for centuries control and manage the land.

Indigenous peoples’ participation and their knowledge of the local ecology are now recognised as the most effective environmental management tools. Not only does it support practical projects in tropical rainforest areas, the Rainforest Foundation carries out international advocacy campaigns.

Experience has proven that the combination of practical work and lobbying, all of which is based on local experience, is the most powerful tool for lasting change.  Working with Forest communities, we have protected more than 45,000 square miles of rainforest; and we are on our way to saving another 385,700 square miles.

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