• About
  • Help Center
    • English
      • Español
      • Indonesia
      • Français
      • Deutsch
      • 日本語
      • Português
For Individuals
For Business
  • The Latest
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Work With Us
  • What We Are Doing
    • Our Impacts
    • Our Approach
    • Issues
      • Forests
      • Livelihoods
      • Climate
      • Human rights
    • Regions
      • Asia
      • Central America & Mexico
      • East Africa
      • South America
      • West & Central Africa
  • What You Can Do
    • Support Our Work
    • Everyday Actions
    • Find the Frog
    • School Curricula
    • Kids Games & Activities
    • Green Vacations
  • For Business
    • Certification
    • Marketing Sustainability
    • Tailored Supply Chain Services
    • For Partners
  • About
  • Help Center
  • The Latest
  • Events
  • English
    • Español
    • Indonesia
    • Français
    • Deutsch
    • 日本語
    • Português
  • What We Are Doing
      • small frog
      • Our Impacts

        See the positive change our work is making around the world.
        LEARN MORE

        Our Approach

      • Issues

      • Forests
      • Livelihoods
      • Climate
      • Human Rights
      • Regions

      • Asia
      • East Africa
      • West & Central Africa
      • South America
      • Mexico & Central America
  • What You Can Do
      • Tall Trees
      • Support Our Work

        There are many ways you can protect rainforests, fight climate change, and help people and wildlife thrive.
        EXPLORE YOUR GIVING OPTIONS

      • Everyday Actions

      • Find the Frog
      • Green Vacations
      • School Curricula
      • Kids’ Games & Activities
      • Shop to Support
      • Events

      • #FollowTheFrog
      • For Business

      • Transform your business practices
  • What Our Seal Means
      • The Rainforest Alliance certification seal means that the product (or a specified ingredient) was produced by farmers, foresters, and/or companies working together to create a world where people and nature thrive in harmony.
        LEARN MORE

  • Donate

Climate

Resilience and nature-based solutions

What's at Stake

Droughts. Floods. Shorter growing seasons. Economic insecurity. Famine. For farmers and forest communities around the world, climate change poses daunting challenges—and disproportionately impacts poor rural communities who depend on the land to live. In today’s hyper-connected world, fighting climate change and building resilience to its impacts is urgent for us all.

Forests, Agriculture, and Climate

Almost a quarter of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, forestry, and other land use—with the main culprits being deforestation and forest degradation, along with livestock, poor soil management, and fertilizer application. Agriculture drives an estimated 75 percent of deforestation.

Our Impact


Research shows that certified farmers implement more sustainable practices that can help them adapt to and prepare for climate impacts. These practices can improve soil quality, conserve water, increase native vegetation and carbon storage—and all while increasing productivity on existing farmland.

More Trees and Ground Cover Mean More Carbon Stored

150 Tons of Carbon

per hectare stored in trees on Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee farms in Nicaragua, compared to 82 tons per hectare on non-certified farms*

These coffee farms in Nicaragua boast a high basal area, which means there is a considerable number of large and old trees, as well as a high percentage of ground cover—all of which increases carbon storage. Ground cover also provides wildlife habitat and helps control soil erosion.

*Based on the following study: Haggar, J., G. Soto, F. Casanoves, and E. de Melo Virginio (2017). Environmental-economic benefits and trade-offs on sustainably certified coffee farms. Ecological Indicators, 79: 330-337.

Shade Trees for Climate Resilience

20 Shade Trees Per Hectare

on Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa farms in Ghana, compared to 4-5 shade trees per hectare on non-certified farms*

Certain crops like cocoa and coffee grow beautifully under the shade of larger trees, which are key to climate-smart farming, in part because they help to stabilize temperature and moisture. These certified farms in Ghana increased the number of native trees over a five-year period to achieve 40 percent shade cover, while their non-certified counterparts tended to remove trees.

*Based on the following study Fenger NA, Bosselmann AS, Asare R, de Neergaard A. (2017). The impact of certification on the natural and financial capitals of Ghanaian cocoa farmers. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems 41(2), 143-166. DOI: 10.1080/21683565.2016.1258606.

Our Work: Climate


The Rainforest Alliance has long worked to conserve tropical forests—a vital defense against climate change—by partnering with forest communities on improved land management practices. We also train farmers in climate-smart agriculture methods, helping them to adapt to current climate impacts and prepare for future challenges. All our work focuses on protecting forests and land in ways that strengthen local livelihoods.

Article

What Are Natural Climate Solutions?

Forest conservation, restoration, and improved land management practices increase carbon storage and avoid GHG emissions.
Learn More
Article

What is the Relationship Between Deforestation And Climate Change?

Deforestation causes about 10 percent of global emissions. 
Learn More
coffee-farm-nicaragua-header.jpg
Article

What Is Climate-Smart Agriculture?

Climate-smart agriculture combines sustainable methods to tackle the specific climate challenges of a specific farm.
Learn More
Article

Want to Prevent Pandemics and Fight Climate Change? Conserve Forests

Healthy forests are key to tackling both climate change and pandemics.
Learn More

All resources for Climate


Filter by:
The Independent
Media Coverage

World Rainforest Day: Five UK favourite foods ‘under threat from climate crisis and deforestation’

Published on June 23, 2022 | The Independent

The Rainforest Alliance says climate change and deforestation threaten the supply of key raw ingredients for some of Britain’s favourite foods.

Topics: BananasCocoaCoffeeTea

Annual Report

2021 Annual Report: We Grow Together

Explore the Rainforest Alliance 2021 Annual Report! Inside you’ll meet the farmers, forest communities, businesses, and individuals who are working with us to create a world where people and nature
View: 2021 Annual Report: We Grow Together

Published on June 15, 2022
Available in: English, Spanish, German, French, Indonesian, Portuguese, Japanese

Topics: ImpactsIn the Field

A snail on the forest floor between ferns in Darjeeling, India.

Our Integrated Pest Management & Pesticide Approach

What can be done to reduce this reliance on pesticides and the negative consequences of pesticide use? A practical and cost-effective answer is integrated pest management (IPM).[Read more...]

Published on June 10, 2022

Topics: CertificationPesticides

KBC Channel 1
Media Coverage

Rainforest Alliance embarks on plans to rehabilitate Mt. Kenya forest ecosystem

Published on June 6, 2022 | KBC Channel 1

The organization seeks to train over 50,000 farmers in Embu County on ways to preserve and better manage their resources to collectively protect Mount Kenya’s biodiversity reservoir.

Topics: CoffeeKenyaTea

Announcing The Business Case for Collective Landscape Action Initiative

The Business Case for Collective Landscape Action Initiative will set out to reduce commodity-driven deforestation, contribute to global climate and biodiversity goals, and drive new investment in inclusive development across some of the world’s most important tropical landscapes.[Read more...]

Published on June 2, 2022

The Independent
Media Coverage

How to make our beloved ‘cuppa’ more enjoyable despite the challenges it faces

Published on May 20, 2022 | The Independent

Here’s what tea lovers can do to help drive positive change and make tea more sustainable. Registration (for free) is required to read the article.

Topics: Tea

For Business

Transform your business practices

For Supporters

Help us rebalance the planet

For Researchers

See how we measure our impacts

For Educators

Use our conservation curricula in your classroom

The Rainforest Alliance is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-3377893.

rainforest alliance spending

In 2021, 77% of our income supported sustainability programs. Learn More »

charity-watch
earth-share

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe

Sign up for business updates or general updates
  • FAQ
  • Press
  • Financials
  • Certification Documents
  • Careers
  • Contact Us

© Copyright 1987 - 2022, Rainforest Alliance | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy