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Home » Issues » Forests & Biodiversity » Deforestation

Deforestation

Deforestation near Guatemala’s border with Belize.

Photo credit: Sergio Izquierdo

Tropical forests absorb more carbon than any other kind of forest. They also provide shelter, food, and livelihoods to millions of Indigenous and local people, while housing two-thirds of the world’s biodiversity. But we are losing them at an alarming pace (mostly to agriculture): In 2019, we lost a football pitch of tropical forest every six seconds. Stopping deforestation and forest degradation in the tropics is critical to the survival of humanity.

This page features information about the Rainforest Alliance's work to stop tropical deforestation and links to all our related content and resources.

Stopping deforestation in the tropics has been at the heart of the Rainforest Alliance’s mission since its founding more than 35 years ago. Working with companies, civil society organizations, and local governments—all while centering the voices of the rural communities we partner with—we promote community forestry and regenerative agriculture throughout the tropics. Our decades of experience have demonstrated that these are the most effective strategies to keep forests standing and restore biodiversity.

Quick Links


Deforestation position paper

This paper outlines our principles and strategies for stopping deforestation (and other forms of ecosystem conversion) in vulnerable tropical regions.

Forest Allies

Learn how joining our Forest Allies community of practice will help your company have a greater impact on forests.

Seven agricultural commodities linked to deforestation

World Resources Institute (WRI) estimates the extent to which seven commodities—oil palm, soy, cattle, plantation wood fiber, cocoa, coffee, and plantation rubber—are replacing forests, and maps their impacts.

Rights-Based Conservation: The path to preserving Earth’s biological and cultural diversity?

This Rights and Resources Initiative report examines the potential of community rights-based conservation to prevent biodiversity collapse.

Our Work: Deforestation


The Maya Biosphere reserve, in Guatemala, is one of the leading examples of community forestry success worldwide
Article

Community: The Secret to Stopping Deforestation in Guatemala

The forest concessions of the Maya Biosphere Reserve have boasted a near-zero deforestation rate for 20 years.

Learn More
Cameroon rainforest - header
Project Profile

Project Profile: Championing Community-led Landscape Management in Cameroon

Community-led landscape management is the best long-term solution to environmental and social challenges.

Learn More
Project Profile

Project Profile: Stopping Deforestation and Advancing Sustainability in West Kalimantan

Since 2018, the Rainforest Alliance has been working in the Sintang District of West Kalimantan to promote an Integrated Landscape Management approach around oil palm and natural rubber production.

Learn More
Project Profile

Project Profile: The Business Case for Collective Landscape Action

Through this initiative, the Rainforest Alliance will work with several organizations to address global environmental challenges associated with commodity-driven deforestation in some of the world’s most important tropical ecosystems and sourcing regions.

Learn More

All resources for Deforestation


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The Guardian
Media Coverage

Cocoa planting is destroying protected forests in West Africa, study finds

Published on May 22, 2023 | The Guardian

Global trade in chocolate, worth more than $1 trillion dollars a year, is leading to widespread deforestation in Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Organizational Updates

Rainforest Alliance Tools for Deforestation-free Supply Chains

The Rainforest Alliance has developed a comprehensive approach to helping your company achieve deforestation-free supply chains and protect the world’s forests. 

Published on April 5, 2023

Article

Our Work to Prevent Forest Fires

Protecting forests is at the heart of the Rainforest Alliance’s mission, which is why our interventions work to prevent forest fires in precious tropical landscapes.

Published on December 16, 2022

Al Jazeera
Media Coverage

Can a new triple alliance save rainforests from ruin?

Published on December 6, 2022 | Al Jazeera

Brazil, Indonesia, and DR Congo have now formed a tripartite alliance aimed at better preserving tropical rainforests amid the worsening global climate emergency.

Mongabay
Media Coverage

Delectable but destructive: Tracing chocolate’s environmental life cycle

Published on August 1, 2022 | Mongabay

Chocolate is a treat beloved across the world. But how much do we know about our favorite guilty pleasure’s environmental impacts?

Project Profile

Project Profile: The Business Case for Collective Landscape Action

Through this initiative, the Rainforest Alliance will work with several organizations to address global environmental challenges associated with commodity-driven deforestation in some of the world’s most important tropical ecosystems and sourcing regions.

Published on July 5, 2022

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