Since 2009, the Rainforest Alliance has been working with businesses and community organizations known as Agrupaciones Sociales del Lugar (ASLs), which hold logging concessions for much of the forest in the region. With support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Tinker Foundation, the Rainforest Alliance has helped those organizations to improve their stewardship of the land, worker conditions and market competitiveness.
Since the passing of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in 1972, the designation ‘World Heritage Site’ has been awarded to 911 properties of outstanding natural or cultural importance. Natural World Heritage sites have exceptional natural beauty and/or outstanding biodiversity, and typically have a national-level designation such as National Park or Wildlife Preserve in addition to their World Heritage status.
