Rainforest Alliance

The Rainforest Alliance pioneered the independent monitoring of the status and condition of High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) by identifying forests of biological and cultural significance at the local, national and global levels, and then evaluating company practices in protecting those forests.

HCVF verifications may be peer reviews of the quality and rigor of companies' internal HCVF assessments. We also evaluate the extent to which HCVF areas are actively conserved within given forests. For such audits, reports of the qualitative and quantitative results of the verification findings, including maps and figures on the changes in the HCVF area, are made available to the public.

The largest and most widely known HCVF verifications by the Rainforest Alliance have taken place in Riau Province, Sumatra, Indonesia. In July 2005, the Rainforest Alliance and Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) agreed to a five-year verification program combining ground and aerial surveys, as well as satellite image interpretation, to provide credible, independent HCVF verification reporting. To learn why the Rainforest Alliance is no longer working with APP, read our public statement.

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