Rainforest Foundation US

06/02/2026

In Loreto, Peru, home to over 800 Indigenous communities, Rainforest Foundation US’s (RFUS) partner organization Orpio is using satellite maps and drones to defend their territories from illegal logging.

By equipping and training community forest monitors to use smartphones, georeferencing technology, and drones, RFUS’s Rainforest Alert program provides the data needed to strengthen their territorial protection efforts and collaborate effectively with government officials.

“The training is not just technical…” writes Jesús Vázquez for WIRED en español, "The communities know their territory. The technology simply adds a language that the State can understand.”

In the first year alone, communities using Rainforest Alert monitoring program saw 52% less deforestation.

Read more about its implementation in Loreto here (article in Spanish):

Una científica de México y dos asociaciones de comunidades indígenas de Guatemala y Perú emplean innovaciones científicas, así como sensores, drones y datos para progeter los ecosistemas de América Latina.

05/26/2026

⚠️The Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia's rainforests are approaching a breaking point.

Cattle ranching, gold mining, and industrial agriculture have long driven deforestation. A new report commissioned by Regnskogfondet - Rainforest Foundation Norway highlights how they're not only expanding, but being compounded by emerging demands.

Mining alone carries a far larger footprint than previously recognized. Secondary impacts, including road construction, water contamination, and settlement expansion, already affect between 10% and one-third of the world's forests.

Now, critical minerals for EV batteries, wood pulp for fast fashion, and biofuel are adding new frontiers of pressure—pushing deeper into territories where forests and Indigenous communities have long held the line.

Read the full report herehttps://www.regnskog.no/uploads/documents/Tropical-Deforestation-Outlook-RFN-final-version.pdf

05/20/2026

🐝 Happy World Bee Day!

You probably already know bees are important pollinators, but did you know stingless bees are responsible for up to 90% of pollination in the Amazon rainforest?
Along Peru’s Napo River, Maijuna and Kichwa communities are revitalizing ancestral meliponiculture practices to help protect these tiny but essential native pollinators.
We’re proud to support Indigenous-led efforts that protect both biodiversity and cultural knowledge in the Amazon.

Read more about the project and why stingless bees matter in the Amazon: https://rainforestfoundation.org/stingless-bees-indigenous-communities-in-the-amazon-protecting/?segmentCode=FBOO

05/19/2026

What does it take to protect the Amazon at scale? 🌳

Last month, Indigenous leaders and community forest monitors from Peru and Brazil came together for a cross-border TechCamp, an opportunity to exchange experiences and lessons learned in territorial monitoring and technological tools.

Across the Amazon, Indigenous peoples are combining generations of territorial knowledge with satellite data, mobile applications, and real-time monitoring platforms like Global Forest Watch. These approaches are transforming how forests are protected, making monitoring more precise and timely.

But forests—and the many threats they face—do not stop at national borders. That is why cross-border collaboration between Indigenous organizations is essential. This TechCamp was organized by the Centro de Trabalho Indigenista (CTI) bringing together the Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon (Orpio) and the Union of Indigenous Peoples of the Javari Valley (UNIVAJA), representing the Matsés, Ticuna, Marubo, Matis, Kulina-Pano, and Kanamari peoples—along with partners including Rainforest Foundation US and Global Forest Watch.

For Rainforest Foundation US, TechCamps are part of a broader strategy to build the durable infrastructure needed to support Indigenous-led forest protection at scale.

05/14/2026

Before the sun rises in Petén, Guatemala, Erico Fernando Chi Lainez is already preparing for another trip to the forest.

As president of the San Andrés Petén Integral Forestry Association (AFISAP), Erico helps coordinate the everyday work of protecting the forest his community depends on against deforestation—from monitoring fire risks to checking satellite data for illegal logging to checking camera traps for potential illegal hunting.

This is the kind of work that prevents forest loss, work that his and other concessionaires of the Guatecarbon REDD+ Project have been doing for decades.

Finally, those efforts have paid off. Their forests have generated verified emissions reductions under Guatemala’s first national results-based payment program under the World Bank Group’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).

Our new article tells the story behind this milestone: how AFISAP and the other forest communities of Petén fought to ensure that payments for reducing deforestation reached those doing the work 👉 https://rainforestfoundation.org/after-years-of-caring-for-their-forests-recognition-arrives-for-the-communities-of-peten-guatemala/?segmentCode=FB00

05/12/2026

📢🌳An historic win for the forest communities of Guatemala.

After nearly two decades of community forest management, leadership, and advocacy, the forest concessionaires of the Guatecarbon REDD+ Project have received the first successful payment for reducing carbon emissions and protecting their forests.

This milestone demonstrates a key lesson for forest carbon markets 👉 the proceeds must reach those that care, manage, and defend the forests.

Rainforest Foundation US and the Asociación de Comunidades Forestales de Petén(a member of the Alianza Mesoamericana de Pueblos y Bosques - AMPB) have co-authored a case study on the success of the Guatecarbon REDD+ Project that shows how carbon markets can be shaped to recognize and directly benefit the communities who steward forests every day.

Read the updated case study 👇

Benefit sharing is a critical component of REDD+ forest carbon projects, particularly where Indigenous peoples and local communities are central to forest

05/05/2026

Last month in Loreto, Peru, Rainforest Foundation US joined partners from the Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon (Orpio) for a hands-on session focused on positive leadership and institutional values.

During the session, ORPIO identified concrete commitments to strengthen governance and transparency, including making institutional policies publicly available online, establishing a formal complaints and suggestions system, and communicating more clearly about the organization's role to member communities.

👉Indigenous peoples steward some of the world’s most critical ecosystems, playing a frontline role in the fight against the climate and biodiversity crises. However, their ability to sustain this work depends on strong organizations, with robust governance and the capacity to advance their own priorities.
Partnering with Indigenous peoples to strengthen their organizations is a core element of our approach. We work hand-in-hand with our partners to define what strong institutions look like to them and prioritize the investments that will help them get there.

By 2030, we aim to grow the number of Indigenous organizations we provide institutional strengthening support to from 30 to 67, enabling Indigenous communities to protect rainforest territories and defend human rights long into the future.

05/04/2026

Protect our planet we must… 🌳 🐸

04/28/2026

How can artificial intelligence support Indigenous stewardship without creating new risks for Indigenous peoples and territories?

Rainforest Foundation US Field Science Director Cameron Ellis spoke with Mongabay.com about the opportunities and challenges AI presents for forest protection in the Amazon and beyond .

“Technology on its own doesn’t protect forests—people do,” Cameron said. “These tools are only effective when grounded in community governance and leadership.”

The article explores how AI tools can support Indigenous communities in monitoring their vast territories, while also raising urgent concerns around data sovereignty, extractivism, and the environmental impact of data centers.

Read more:

This story is republished through the Indigenous News Alliance. At the 2026 United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII, in New York, experts warned of the opportunities and dangers of using artificial intelligence (AI) in conservation and climate adaptation efforts. AI can suppor...