Cool Earth works to prevent deforestation by establishing sustainable agreements with rainforest communities which aim to improve their lives to the point where they benefit more from keeping the forest standing than they would otherwise earn from clearing it. The assistance given is based on the needs and specific requests of the community, ranging from support for local industries such as cacao and coffee, to the provision of boats for emergency health evacuations. Based on this, Cool Earth’s work also contributes to economic empowerment, education and health at a community level.

 

Half of the world’s rainforest has been destroyed in the last 40 years, and local people stand to lose the most from deforestation, but have the most to gain from its protection. As such, they are the forest’s best possible custodians. That’s why all Cool Earth partnerships are community-owned and led – an approach that research is continually proving to be the most effective way to keep rainforest standing. They are also the only charity that works solely where the threat to the forest is greatest, and that builds partnerships to form a shield to make the neighbouring forest inaccessible to loggers – saving millions of acres of further forest. To date, they have saved 640,000 acres of the world’s most at-risk rainforest, and shielded 5 million more acres, through empowering 118 villages in Peru, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Papua New Guinea. This has helped to lock in a staggering total of 160 million tonnes of CO2