Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) works with Indigenous peoples to protect rainforests across the Amazon and Central America.
We work in the Amazon rainforest in Peru, Brazil, Guyana, and in rainforests throughout Central America.
RFUS supports Indigenous peoples and helps them protect their lands in a few key ways.
1) RFUS trains Indigenous communities in using technology like smartphones, satellites that orbit the Earth, and drones equipped with cameras that can track when people are cutting down trees where they shouldn't be. These tools allow Indigenous peoples to document evidence of deforestation and prevent illegal loggers from continuing to deforest their land. 2) RFUS supports Indigenous communities to strengthen their own organizations. This includes providing direct funding to do their work, helping improve systems for managing money and making decisions, and speaking up alongside Indigenous peoples and local communities on a global scale so they can get the resources they need to address climate change and make sure their rights are protected. Strong communities and organizations are better able to protect themselves and their lands from illegal activities like the logging we've been talking about. 3) RFUS works with Indigenous communities to secure legal rights to their lands. Without legal recognition of their lands, it’s difficult for Indigenous peoples to maintain their ways of life and safeguard their forests.
Land rights are like a “legal shield.” They are official papers that help Indigenous peoples prove to the government that the forest is their home, and that they have lived there for many, many years.
The Amazon is a giant forest—bigger than most countries! Because it is so huge, it is hard for the police or the government to watch every corner. This makes it easier for "land grabbers" (people who break the law) to sneak in. They often try to claim the land is theirs so they can cut down trees to make money. This is why it is so important for Indigenous communities to have their land rights officially recognized. It helps them stop outsiders from coming in to cut down trees, build illegal farms, or destroy the land where their families have lived for hundreds of years. RFUS helps pay legal fees for Indigenous peoples and organizations when needed. Court cases are expensive!
RFUS works with Indigenous peoples because they have lived in the rainforests for thousands of years. They know their rainforests better than anyone else—and they also know how to protect them best.
One-third of the world’s remaining rainforests are inhabited by Indigenous peoples whose families have lived there for thousands of years. Many Indigenous peoples have strong traditions of protecting their rainforests and helping keep the ecosystem in balance—it's their home, after all! Scientists have also found that fewer trees are cut down on lands where Indigenous people live. The deforestation rates on rainforests cared for by Indigenous peoples are often lower than those in other protected areas, including national parks, nature preserves, and private sanctuaries.
Of course, not all Indigenous people grow up and become forest defenders.
Many leave the rainforest and move to cities to get other kinds of jobs. Some may even decide to cut down forests themselves. But because their families have lived in the rainforests for thousands of years, they have a lot of knowledge about how to keep the rainforests healthy—knowledge that governments and organizations around the world need to be able to make rules and build systems that help protect forests.
There are many reasons people and organizations (like companies and even governments) want to cut down trees in the rainforest.
Sometimes, they remove trees to build mines and extract valuable resources (like the precious metals inside our computers and phones) or gold. Other times, they do this to create massive agricultural projects that produce food—often meat—for people around the world.
Tragically, Indigenous peoples will lose their rainforest homes—where their families and ancestors have lived for thousands of years.
They may even lose their culture and language, too. But supporting Indigenous communities in upholding their rights and defending their forests means that they can protect their homes and futures.
There are a number of threats to the Amazon. Two major ones include: climate change and deforestation.
Some of the impacts of these threats are: the loss of animal and plant species and their habitats, harm to the health and traditional ways of life of the Indigenous peoples who live in the Amazon, and an increase in carbon—or CO2—emissions. Climate change also contributes to severe drought and fires in the Amazon.
Tropical forests like the Amazon are typically very wet, and they don't usually catch fire on their own.
Unlike forests in places like California in the western United States, where fire is a natural part of the forest's life cycle, the Amazon usually stays wet enough to prevent fires. However, in recent years, two main things have caused fires in the Amazon: drought and deforestation caused by the growth of farming and cattle ranching. When a forest is cleared for farming or ranching, the cut trees are often set on fire. In normal conditions, the wet forest area around the cleared land helps stop the fire from spreading. But because of the drought caused by climate change and deforestation, fires are starting to spread to other parts of the forest. This creates a dangerous cycle where the land becomes drier, and more of the forest is at risk of burning. Scientists say that if too much of the Amazon is destroyed, it could reach a "tipping point" where the forest can no longer grow back easily, and parts of it turn into dry, grass-like areas. This would lead to huge problems for our climate and for life around the world. One way to protect the forest is to support the Indigenous peoples who live there. Their families have lived in these forests for thousands of years, and they know how to keep the forests healthy.
If rainforests around the world disappear, the world loses one of the largest land-based carbon sinks.
Rainforests like the Amazon impact the entire world, even where you live! And here's why: Trees capture and store something called carbon, or CO₂ (you might have learned about this in science class!). Because of this, these forests are often called "carbon sinks." Carbon needs to be stored to make room for oxygen to be released into the atmosphere (all mammals, including humans, need oxygen to breathe!). If rainforests around the world get cut down, it creates many problems—not only for the people, plants, and animals who live in them, but also the entire world loses the largest land-based carbon sinks. Losing these trees makes something called climate change much worse. What happens in the Amazon impacts us even as far away as in the US—we get more wildfires, floods, and droughts.
There’s plenty you can do! The good news is, you’re already taking the first step by educating yourself about the rainforest and the people living there.
Once you understand deforestation, climate change, and the challenges Indigenous peoples face, you can begin to understand why these problems exist and if there are changes you can personally make that can make a difference. I’ve listed some ideas below: 1) Learn about everyday products. Lots of things we eat every day contain ingredients that are grown or harvested in the rainforest—things like palm oil, soybeans for chicken food, and beef. Trees in the rainforests are being cut down to make room for farms that grow these products. See if you can find out the ingredients of some of the foods you eat at home to see if they have any of these kinds of ingredients. Then, share with whoever buys your food at home what you’ve learned about the rainforest and how rainforests are being damaged because companies want these ingredients in their foods. 2) Fossil fuels like oil and gas are used to run cars and release harmful gases into the air. This contributes to climate change and is harming the Amazon. If you live in a city or somewhere close to your school, you could try walking or taking your bike to school (with permission from your parents, of course!) 3) Share what you are learning with friends and family! And help them get involved in making a difference. 4) Talk to your teacher about starting a fundraiser at your school or your local community center! Or start your own fundraiser like some of our younger rainforest supporters who set up lemonade stands and bake sales. If these ideas sound like something you’d like to do, send us an email. We will help you—or your teacher—get started! You’re on an exciting path—keep learning and striving to make a difference!
Your donation funds all of the work RFUS does, from supporting Indigenous peoples to secure rights to their ancestral lands to equipping them with cutting-edge technology like satellites and drones to stop deforestation.
Explore our website to learn more about what we do and how your donation makes a difference!
