Rainforest Action Network: Forests

Forests

Forests provide homes and habitat for countless plant and animal species as well as for Indigenous communities. They also serve as a key defense against global warming by storing massive amounts of carbon. The world’s rainforests -- which are being cleared to accommodate the rapid expansion of soy and palm oil plantations by U.S. agribusinesses -- help regulate the planet's weather cycles by circulating wind and water vapor outward from the tropics. Canada’s Boreal forest, North America's largest intact pristine forest, is being threatened by rampant industrial activities such as clear-cut logging and unchecked resource extraction. RAN is working to protect global forests and the communities that depend on them.

Protect tropical ecosystems

Protecting tropical rainforests, which are home to more biodiversity than any other ecosystem, is key to protecting the planet’s health and curbing climate change.

The greatest threat to global rainforests is the rapid proliferation of soy and palm oil plantations owned by U.S. agribusinesses like ADM, Bunge and Cargill. RAN is calling on agribusinesses to protect these vital ecosystems by stopping industrial agrisprawl.

Learn more

Buy good wood

RAN encourages wood and paper buyers to understand the origin of the products they buy. Look for the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo as a tool to promote environmentally, socially and economically responsible management of the world's forests.

Beware of imitations. Multinational loggers armed with multi-million dollar Public Relations contracts are pushing imitations, such as the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI), designed to evade higher standards and mislead consumers.

Learn more about certification standards at the links below.

Learn more

End destructive logging

RAN is pushing major wood and paper buyers such as Weyerhaeuser Corp. and Office Max to use their purchasing power to end destructive logging in endangered forests around the world.

Destructive logging, spurred by high demand for cheap wood and paper products, is decimating the planet’s last old-growth forests. Learn how to help us force corporate America to stop destroying endangered forests and the communities that depend on them.

buygoodwood.com

Forests

Learn more

Protect North America's last pristine forest

We are working to protect Canada's boreal forest, the largest intact forest in North America, from destructive logging and other industrial activities.

Home to endangered species such as the caribou and wolverine, the boreal forest is also the world’s largest terrestrial carbon storehouse—a critical defense against global warming. Keys to protecting the boreal include:

respecting the land rights of Indigenous communities, and
getting industrial paper makers and home builders out of ecologically important areas.

The boreal forest

Learn more

Protect Canada's forests from destructive investment

Canada’s boreal forest is North America's largest intact forest, comprising 25 percent of the world’s remaining original forests. Let’s keep it that way.

Canada's five largest banks – RBC, Scotiabank, Toronto-Dominion, BMO and CIBC – are destroying Canadian wilderness and communities by bankrolling oil, gas and forestry operations that spoil critical habitat for threatened and endangered species; fuel global warming; and contribute to human rights abuses. RAN is urging these banks to adopt comprehensive policies that address the environmental and human impacts of their lending.