Rainforest Foundation US
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| Founded | 1988 |
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| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Focus | Human Rights, Environmentalism |
| Location | |
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Area served
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Central and South America |
| Method | Lobbying, research, field work |
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Key people
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Trudie Styler and Sting, founders Suzanne Pelletier, Executive Director John W. Copeland, Chair of the Board of Directors |
| Website | rainforestfoundation.org |
The Rainforest Foundation US is a non-profit NGO working in Central and South America. It is one of the first international organizations to support the indigenous peoples of the world's rainforests in their efforts to protect their environment and fulfill their rights to land, life and livelihood.
In almost 30 years of work, their strategy of protecting forests by partnering with indigenous communities has proven to be effective. Multiple studies support the link between indigenous people's having control over their lands and the protection of the forests in those areas. For example, recent studies of the Brazilian Amazon show that deforestation rates were up to 20 times lower in traditional indigenous lands than other areas, and in Ecuador over one million acres of indigenous reserve show 0% deforestation, while the rest of Ecuador has the highest deforestation rates on the continent.
The idea that the indigenous peoples of the world are holders of a specific set of rights and are also the victims of historically unique forms of discrimination is most completely/thoroughly enunciated by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007. The Rainforest Foundation US works to protect and defend indigenous rights, thereby protecting the rainforests.
The Rainforest Foundation was first founded in 1988 by Sting and his wife Trudie Styler after the indigenous leader of the Kayapo people of Brazil, the Chief Raoni made a personal request to them to help his community protect their lands and culture. The Rainforest Foundation's initial project was successful in coordinating the first ever privately funded demarcation of indigenous land in the region - 17,000 square miles of traditional land, the Menkragnoti area, next to Xingu National Park, was demarcated and legally titled to the Kayapo people by the Brazilian government in 1993.
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Wikipedia