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Training, Extension, Enterprises and Sourcing Program
The Rainforest Alliance's TREES program focuses on (TR)aining, (E)xtension, (E)nterprises and (S)ourcing activities. We help communities and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) harvest and produce forest products in a sustainable way, and sell their goods to conscientious consumers in the global marketplace. By facilitating these market linkages through our worldwide network of technical experts and collaborating businesses, we create incentives for communities to conserve biodiversity while lifting themselves out of poverty. Our Global ReachTREES is actively working across four continents with projects in Bolivia, China, Ghana, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Russia, and the United States High rates of deforestation are a global threat to our climate and biodiversity, while the last forest frontiers of unlogged forests are also frequently home to the world's most impoverished peoples. Once a forest is logged, it may be converted to ranchland or agricultural land, resulting in permanent biodiversity loss and further economic hardship for local communities who no longer benefit from a standing forest. In developing countries alone, illegal logging results in losses in assets and revenue in excess of $10 billion annually. It is becoming ever more important to protect the remaining natural forest resources. The challenge is to find solutions that reduce or avoid deforestation while simultaneously alleviating poverty and creating greater economic opportunities.
TREES receives funding from:
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the norm in the forestry sector of many developing countries. As much as 80 – 90 percent of businesses engaged in forest products processing are SMEs, accounting for over 50 percent of forest-related jobs and offering a greater opportunity to reduce poverty than large-scale commercial forestry operations. Mounting consumer demand for forest products means that manufacturers need to secure reliable timber supplies. Increasingly, they need to work with SMEs to do this. Yet SMEs are frequently at a disadvantage when trying to enter forest products markets, and need technical assistance to overcome challenges. Common weaknesses include insufficient volume of supply; little or no value-added production capacity; lack of experience and business skills; and lack of understanding of the role of sustainable practices in forest product and carbon credit markets. TREES works to ensure that forest-dependent community enterprises are economically viable and sustainable in the long term, so that the world's remaining standing forests continue to sequester carbon and serve as havens of biodiversity. In addition, we provide training and outreach to all forest managers to adopt sustainable practices and ensure long-term viability of their forest resources.
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