Rainforests are essential to life on Earth. Not only do they provide air, water, medicine, food, and shelter to a multitude of living beings, they are also one of our best natural defenses against climate change because of their capacity to absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

When the founders of the Rainforest Alliance set out more than thirty years ago to save the world’s rainforests, we quickly learned that in order to do so, we’d have to transform the agricultural sector (the number one driver of deforestation worldwide), as well as forestry. From the beginning, our approach has been to work with farmers and indigenous and forest communities to cultivate sustainable rural livelihoods that incentivize conservation.

Today, we work in more than 60 countries to stop deforestation and initiate reforestation, improve livelihoods, and protect biodiversity. Although rainforests cover less than 3 percent of the planet, these ecological powerhouses are critical to nearly every aspect of the planet’s health—including our very ability to breathe. Read More