Forests

Rainforests are treasure troves of life, home to some of the most biologically and culturally diverse landscapes on earth. Since 1985, Rainforest Action Network has designed strategic campaigns utilizing bold tactics to defend the world’s most important and endangered forests.

Tragically, most of the world’s original forests have already been lost or degraded, and those that remain are falling fast. The scale and pace of deforestation in Indonesia alone is so extreme it is having devastating consequences for species, communities and the climate. RAN’s campaigns are designed to confront the two primary drivers of this destruction, the expansion of palm oil plantations and logging by the pulp and paper industry.

Read more about Indonesian rainforests.

KEY THREATS TO INDONESIAN RAINFORESTS

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Indonesia’s Rainforests: Biodiversity and Endangered Species

Indonesia’s rainforests are home to some of the highest levels of biological diversity in the world. Many sources credit Indonesia as the most species rich country on earth.

Human Rights and Rainforests

Tragically, rainforest destruction goes hand in hand with social conflict around the world as large corporations and other powerful interests expropriate the ancestral lands of forest peoples.

Our Work: Forests Program

Rainforest Action Network believes corporate exploitation of our world’s forests is a crime that demands bold and strident resistance. Everyday, RAN challenges corporate power with hard-hitting campaigns that prioritize the long-term health of forest communities and ecosystems.

Indonesia, Climate Change and Rainforests

Forests and the climate are inextricably linked. Indonesia is ground zero for forest and climate destruction.

Forest Certification: RAN’s Perspective

Global demand for cheap wood and paper products is one of the largest drivers of forest destruction worldwide. Forest certification and labeling is intended to inform consumers if their purchases of wood or paper products are derived from well-managed forests, and to improve transparency, accountability and performance within the poorly controlled $500 billion global forest products industry. But not all certification systems are created equally. Here is RAN's perspective on current forest certification systems.

Green The Film

Green tells a moving story about the corporate conversion of rainforests in Indonesia for palm oil, tropical wood and paper through the eyes of a dying orangutan - a victim of deforestation and resource exploitation. This film is a visual journey illustrating the impacts of land clearing, the effects of consumerism, the tragic loss of biodiversity and the other harsh realities that Indonesian rainforest destruction is inflicting upon endangered species like the orangutan.

Pushing the Paper Industry Toward Environmental and Social Responsibility

The average North American touches paper countless times a day. Yet the true environmental and social costs of these everyday products often go unnoticed.

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Recent Blog Posts

Take Action Today

Thank Disney

Disney has taken a major stand for Indonesia's rainforests. Please thank Disney for cutting rainforest destruction out of its supply chain now!

INDONESIAN RAINFOREST DESTROYERS

IOI Group

Cargill

APP & April

Publications

Truth and Consequences: Palm Oil Plantations Push Unique Orangutan Population to Brink of Extinction

A manmade inferno inside the globally renowned Tripa rainforest in Aceh, Indonesia is pushing this forest’s unique population of Sumatran orangutans to the brink of extinction. Destruction inside palm oil plantation leases is driving the end of this great lowland forest, despite years of efforts by local communities to defend their forests and livelihood.

Are YOU Connected To Rainforest Destruction?

This infographic shows exactly how pristine rainforests get turned into palm oil plantations, how they make their way onto our grocery store shelves and into our homes, and what we can do about it.

Indonesia, Climate Change, and Rainforests Brochure

This image-rich trifold brochure summarizes the driving forces behind Indonesia's deforestation crisis as well as its impact on wildlife, humans and the climate.

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