Empowering Forest Communities
The Protect-an-Acre Program contributes directly to forest communities struggling to protect their rainforest homelands through small grants to local groups.
RAN established the Protect-an-Acre program in 1993 to protect the world’s forests and the rights of their inhabitants by providing financial aid to traditionally under-funded organizations and communities in forest regions. The PAA program supports projects that protect forests through grassroots efforts led by local forest communities, Indigenous federations and non-governmental organizations.
The PAA program is an integral part of RAN’s commitment to halting further destruction of the world’s forests while also supporting the livelihoods and right to self-determination of those living in forest communities. PAA projects complement RAN’s efforts to end agribusiness expansion, oil exploration and old-growth logging in critical forest areas.
Our grants (generally $5,000 or less) support organizations and communities working to regain control of and sustainably manage their traditional territories through land title initiatives, community education, development of sustainable economic alternatives, and grassroots resistance to destructive industrial activities.
Not "Buy-an-Acre"
The PAA program is an alternative to “Buy-an-Acre” programs that seek to provide rainforest protection by buying tracts of land, but which often fail to address the needs or rights of local Indigenous peoples. Traditional forest communities are often the best stewards of the land because their way of life and well-being depend on it. A recent study by Forest Trends found that forest communities and Indigenous peoples do a better job of conserving woodlands than national governments or international donors.
Uninhabited forest areas often go unprotected, even if purchased through a Buy-an-Acre program. It is not uncommon for loggers, oil and gas companies, cattle ranchers, and miners to illegally extract resources from so-called “protected” areas.
Supporting Protect-an-Acre
When you donate to Protect-an-Acre, you receive a certificate of recognition acknowledging your contribution, which includes a description of the specific projects you helped fund. More importantly, you get the satisfaction of knowing that you support projects which contribute to saving the world’s endangered forests and protecting the rights of their inhabitants.
