With more than 30 years of on-the-ground experience, Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) is one of the leading organizations in Central and South America that prioritizes social justice and indigenous rights as preconditions for enduring tropical forest protection. In addition to supporting legal tenure, communal land governance, and advocating for the protection of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) rights, RFUS works with IPLCs to monitor and defend their territories through the use of technology using a specific methodology, results of which were recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. We call this program Rainforest Alert, because it is based on bringing near real time satellite data to indigenous communities and helping them work with local law enforcement to address the threats to their communities. RFUS aims to expand and replicate across the Amazon its proven, evidence-based, and cost-effective Rainforest Alert methodology, which enables indigenous peoples and local communities to significantly reduce deforestation in their territories. Starting in 2022, and over the next five years, RFUS intends to expand Rainforest Alert to communities in other Peruvian provinces, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana, as well as other countries In Central And South America. The ITP grant will help bring together key players for annual weeklong convenings to review the program and strategize for its growth to ensure that Rainforest Alert can be successfully scaled up and replicated in Peru and beyond.
Rainforest Foundation US also works with ITP Grant Partner TIMBY. Read about their work here.