The rainforests are one of the most amazing places on Earth. They provide a home for over half of all the kinds of plants and animals on the planet. They also provide a home for millions of native, or indigenous, forest peoples. Sadly, the rainforests are being destroyed very quickly. An area of rainforest the size of a football field is destroyed every second of every day. Over half of all the rainforests have already disappeared. The rainforests need your help!

There are lots of things that you can do to help save the rainforests. One thing that you can do is raise money for Rainforest Action Network's Protect-an-Acre program. This program is special because it protects the rainforests while helping the indigenous peoples that live in the rainforest. Many indigenous peoples have lived in the rainforests for thousands of years. They depend on the forest for food, medicine, clothing, and shelter. If the rainforest is destroyed, the forest peoples are left without a home.

Rainforest Action Network's Protect-an-Acre program gives small amounts of money, called grants, to communities of indigenous people that live in the rainforest. The communities then use the money in different ways to help protect their forest homes.

One way the Protect-an-Acre program helps forest peoples protect their rainforest homes is by helping them gain land title, or ownership of their land. This is important because even though forest peoples may have lived in the same rainforest for thousands of years, in many cases the government doesn't officially recognize that indigenous peoples control, or own the land they live on. This puts the forest peoples-and their land-at risk.

When an indigenous community gains land title from the government, they gain control of their land. This means that it can't be logged for trees, mined for oil or gold, or otherwise harmed without the indigenous peoples' permission. It also means that the indigenous forest peoples can live on the land for as long as they want.

Here are some answers to other frequently asked questions about the Protect-an-Acre program:

Q: How much rainforest land is protected through the Protect-an-Acre program?

A: The amount of rainforest land that is protected varies with each grant. Sometimes one dollar protects one acre of rainforest, and sometimes it protects twenty acres of rainforest. One thing is sure-a little money goes a long way! Protect-an-Acre supports indigenous communities that live on traditional territories that cover millions of acres–helping these communities gain or maintain control of their land is the most effective way to protect the rainforest ecosystems that they have called home for thousands of years.

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Q: Why not buy rainforest land instead? Isn't that better?

A: Rainforest Action Network believes that, in most cases, buying rainforest land is not the best way to protect it. Most "buy-an-acre" programs ignore the fact that there are people who live in and depend upon the forest. We believe that the best way to protect rainforest land in the long run is to allow the indigenous peoples who live there to control what happens to their own land. Because indigenous peoples depend on the rainforest for their survival, they often do the best job of protecting it. Besides, it would take a lot more money to buy fifteen thousand acres of rainforest land than it would to protect it through the Protect-an-Acre program.

Q: How do I participate in the Protect-an-Acre Program?

A: The Protect-an-Acre program is funded by students, classrooms, schools, and individuals like you who care about the rainforests and want to raise money to save them. Ask your friends or classmates to join you in helping save the rainforests. To raise money, you can:

  • Recycle aluminum cans, glass, or plastic for cash.
  • Have a Read-A-Thon, Spell-A-Thon, or Jog-A-Thon.
  • Hold a bake sale or a lemonade or popcorn sale.
  • Have a rainforest rummage sale and sell old toys, clothing, games, and books.
  • Put on a rainforest play and charge admission.

For more ideas on ways to raise money for the rainforest, visit our website at www.ran.org and read the student fact sheet "Fundraising and Activities for the Rainforest," or call Rainforest Action Network at (415) 398-4404 and ask to have a Kid's Packet mailed to you.

You can donate money to the Protect-an-Acre program directly from our website. You can also pay by check. Just print this factsheet, fill in the form below, and mail it along with the money (checks only please, no cash) to the address shown. You will receive a certificate describing the projects that your money helped to support and personally thanking you for protecting the rainforest. Please allow three weeks for the certificate to reach you.

Thanks for caring about the rainforests and for helping to protect them. Working together, we can save the rainforests!

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Please make the check payable to: Rainforest Action Network-PAA, and mail it along with this coupon to: Rainforest Action Network-PAA, 221 Pine Street, Ste. 500, San Francisco, CA 94104. If you have any questions about the Protect-an-Acre program, please call Rainforest Action Network at (415) 398-4404.