Rainforest Foundation US - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Rainforest Foundation US is a non-profit NGO working in Central and South America. It is one of the first international organizations to support the indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples

Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....

of the world's rainforests

Rainforest

Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...

in their efforts to protect their environment and fulfill their rights

Indigenous rights

Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the preservation of their land, language, religion and other elements of cultural...

to land, life and livelihood.

In over 20 years of work their strategy of protecting forests by partnering with indigenous communities has proven to be effective. Multiple studies support the link between indigenous people's having control over their lands and the protection of the forests in those areas. For example, recent studies of the Brazilian Amazon

Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...

show that deforestation rates were up to 20 times lower in traditional indigenous lands than other areas, and in Ecuador over one million acres of indigenous reserve show 0% deforestation, while the rest of Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

has the highest deforestation rates on the continent.

The idea that the indigenous peoples of the world are holders of a specific set of rights and are also the victims of historically unique forms of discrimination is most completely/thoroughly enunciated by the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly during its 62nd session at UN Headquarters in New York City on 13 September 2007....

, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2007. The Rainforest Foundation US works to protect and defend indigenous rights, thereby protecting the rainforests.

History

The Rainforest Foundation was first founded in 1989 by Sting and his wife Trudie Styler

Trudie Styler

Trudie Styler is an English actress and producer. She is the second wife of the musician Sting.-Life and career:Styler was born in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, England. She attended North Bromsgrove High School, where one of her teachers was Clifford T. Ward...

after an indigenous leader of the Kayapo people

Kayapo people

The Kayapo people are the Gê-speaking native peoples of the plain lands of the Mato Grosso and Pará in Brazil, south of the Amazon Basin and along Rio Xingu and its tributaries.In 2003, their population was 7,096....

of Brazil made a personal request to them to help his community protect their lands and culture. The Rainforest Foundation's initial project was successful in coordinating the first ever privately funded demarcation of indigenous land in the region - 17,000 square miles of traditional land, the Menkragnoti

Terra Indigena Menkragnoti

Terra Indigena Menkragnoti is an Indigenous Territory in Para state, Brazil. It is home to the Menkragnoti tribe, which belongs to the Kayapo nation. It has a total population of 626 people living in 49,142.55 km². The Terra Indigena is also home to an unknown number of isolated Mengra Mrari...

area, next to Xingu National Park

Xingu National Park

The Parque Nacional Xingu is located in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil and was created on April 14, 1961, signed by President Jânio Quadros. The area of the park is 2,642,003 ha., and it is contained in the municipalities of Mato Grosso; Canarana, Paranatinga, São Félix do Araguaia, São José do...

, was demarcated and legally titled to the Kayapo people by the Brazilian government in 1993.

Since then the Rainforest Foundation US, along with its sister organizations the Rainforest Foundation UK, The Rainforest Foundation Norway, and the Rainforest Foundation Fund, have protected a total of 28 million acres of forest in 20 different rainforest countries around the globe.

Current Issues

With its goal of conserving the rainforest, the Rainforest Foundation advocates for the rights of the indigenous inhabitants of the rainforest, by providing project-related grants, capacity-building expertise and direct technical assistance to its local partners on the ground, including indigenous communities and grassroots organizations.

The Rainforest Foundation's current work is focused around three main issues:

Protecting Lands

The Rainforest Foundation believes that indigenous peoples can defend their communities, and their rainforests, against development pressures if they have secure rights to their lands and natural resources. They are not alone in this belief - it is widely accepted that indigenous communities are effective stewards of the environment. Securing indigenous land rights is particularly crucial to conserving the rainforest as many of the world's remaining large tracts of intact rainforests are found in traditional indigenous lands.

However, indigenous peoples are often not recognized as the owners of their land, even if they have lived there for hundreds or thousands of years. Without official titles, many indigenous communities have little recourse but to watch as government or corporate interventions profit from and sometimes even damage or destroy huge tracts of their forests without their consent.

Moreover, indigenous groups face significant legal, technical and cultural hurdles to obtaining legal recognition of their land rights, including: inadequate national legislation, difficulties with accurate marking of boundaries, lack of good maps and documentation, historic discrimination, unfamiliarity with legal systems, and geographic isolation. The Rainforest Foundation US works with indigenous communities to overcome these hurdles.

Building Effective Local Organizations

Indigenous communities in the rainforest face frequent threats to their homes and livelihoods from land invasions, illegal resource extraction, and the undermining of their rights at the local and national levels. Indigenous peoples are often not respected, nor even recognized, as rights holders, and traditional indigenous governance practices and structures are not respected by local and national authorities or by outsiders interested in exploiting the resources of the rainforest.

As indigenous peoples often lack the information, resources and technical skills necessary to exercise their rights and advocate on their own behalf, the Rainforest Foundation US funds and collaborates on various capacity-building initiatives of indigenous leadership and representative indigenous organizations. They provide technical support, legal guidance, and funding for community training workshops. These workshops train local leaders in building administratively and financially strong organizations that are capable of effectively managing social and economic development

Economic development

Economic development generally refers to the sustained, concerted actions of policymakers and communities that promote the standard of living and economic health of a specific area...

projects on their lands as well defending their rights. The Rainforst Foundation US also assists communities with formalizing their traditional governance practices to ensure that they are acknowledged and respected by local and national authorities.

Influencing Climate Change Policy

The Rainforest Foundation US works to provide indigenous peoples with independent and balanced information about climate change science, indigenous rights and international policy. They develop and adapt training materials, and fund local workshops and national level trainings for indigenous leaders. They also connect communities with the legal and technical expertise they need to analyze climate change policies and be informed and effective participants in local, regional and national policy discussions regarding climate change policy.

Tropical deforestation is responsible for nearly 15% of the world's annual greenhouse gas emissions. The world's existing rainforests are also massive carbon sinks, absorbing approximately 20% of the world’s CO2 production each year. Thus, in recent years, climate change

Climate change

Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...

debates have focused increasingly on the need to develop international and national policies to reduce deforestation and rainforest degradation, known as 'REDD' programs.

Indigenous peoples’ lands contain some of the last remaining expanses of intact rainforest on the planet, placing their communities in the center of major policy debates on combating climate change. Such climate change and REDD policies have the potential to provide significant social and economic benefits to the indigenous peoples of the rainforest. But, if poorly designed or implemented, these same policies risk establishing top-down models for forest protection, leading to an increase in conflicts over land ownership and the unfair distribution of benefits.

In many countries government consultations have been rushed and have not allowed time for the communities to understand complex concepts and programs, seek independent consultations, or have adequate internal discussions to decide if and how they want to participate. Many agreements are being formed which violate the indigenous communities' right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent

Informed consent

Informed consent is a phrase often used in law to indicate that the consent a person gives meets certain minimum standards. As a literal matter, in the absence of fraud, it is redundant. An informed consent can be said to have been given based upon a clear appreciation and understanding of the...

- a right enshrined by a number of globally ratified declarations and laws. (e.g. the United Nations

United Nations

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

). The rush to develop such climate change mitigation policies in several countries has also exacerbated existing problems with indigenous land rights.

Current Projects

The Rainforest Foundation US is currently funding and collaborating on 7 projects in 6 countries:

Belize:

In Belize
Belize
Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...

RF-US assisted the Mopan
Mopan
Mopan may refer to:*Mopan language, a Mayan language spoken in Belize and Guatemala*Mopan people, an indigenous Maya people, whose native language is Mopan*Mopan River, in Belize's Cayo district...

and Kekchi communities of Maya peoples
Maya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...

to obtain legal recognition of their rainforest-covered ancestral lands from the Belize Supreme Court. The partnership continues in the form of assistance with defending those rights from intruders, especially loggers and ranchers.

Brazil:

The Rainforest Foundation US works with the Yanomami people of northern Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

through their representative organization, Hutukara
Davi Kopenawa Yanomami
Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, name also written Davi Kobenawä Yanomamö is a shaman and Portuguese-speaking spokesperson of the Yanomami Indians in Brazil...

. The Yanomani have achieved legal recognition of their lands, which are blanketed in pristine Amazonian rainforest. However, they are troubled by gold-miners who illegally enter their lands, cattle ranchers who have illegally claimed parts of their area, and an inadequate healthcare system. The Rainforest Foundation provides support to Hutukara to ensure it is a strong, efficient, and well-functioning grass-roots organization, able to defend its peoples and lands. The support includes leadership training and other forms of capacity building
Capacity building
Capacity building also referred to as capacity development is a conceptual approach to development that focuses on understanding the obstacles that inhibit people, governments, international organizations and non-governmental organizations from realizing their developmental goals while enhancing...

.

Ecuador:

The Rainforest Foundation US works with the Shuar people indigenous to the rainforests of the Cordillera
Cordillera
A cordillera is an extensive chain of mountains or mountain ranges, that runs along a coastline . It comes from the Spanish word cordilla, which is a diminutive of cuerda, or "cord"...

Kutuku region of southeast Ecuador
Ecuador
Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, centered in the Morona-Santiago Province
Morona-Santiago Province
Morona Santiago is a province in Ecuador. The province was established on February 24, 1954. The capital is Macas.- Economy :The provincial economy is industrially unexploited to its potential due to low means of transportation. Its economy relies largely on the tourist sector of the rain forest...

to support them through the legal process of titling their lands, as well as with land management planning and organizational strengthening. The Shuar lands have large tracts of pristine rainforests, and both the rainforests and the communities are threatened by a large new road being built across the territory as well as by international oil drilling. The Rainforest Foundation US works with the Shuar to ensure that they have strong and unified strategies that will allow them to developed their communities economically while protecting their rights and their forests from these threats, as both roads and oil concessions are major causes of rainforest destruction.

Guyana:

The Rainforest Foundation US works with the Amerindian Peoples Association in Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...

. The APA is a national representative body of indigenous peoples in Guyana. The two organizations are working together to ensure that indigenous people are effective participants in the design and implementation of climate change programs, in particular REDD programs, that could affect their lands and resource use. RF-US funds have helped the APA: hold community level workshops that train indigenous peoples about climate change science, policy, and indigenous rights and also to hold media and advocacy trainings for indigenous leaders to become stronger advocates for their people. Nearly 80% of Guyana is covered in rainforests, and those forests are home to over 69,000 indigenous people who have been living in and managing them for centuries but who still lack secure tenure over their lands.

Nicaragua:

On the Atlantic coast of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

an indigenous Mayagna community of some 2,400 people known as Awas Tingni
Awas Tingni
Awas Tingni is an indigenous Mayagna community of some 2,400 members on the Miskito Coast of Nicaragua, in the municipality of Waspam in the Región Autónoma del Atlántico Norte. Awas Tingni is located near the junction of the Rio Wawa and the river Awas Tingni. In Mayagna, "Awas Tingni" means...

has worked hard to obtain legal rights to their land. They were the first indigenous community to bring a land rights case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in the city of San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it makes up the human rights protection system of the Organization of American States , which serves to uphold and...

, which ruled in their favor in 2001. After eight years of delay tactics, the Nicaraguan government officially titled the land to the community in 2009. The Rainforest Foundation’s support enabled the community to finalize that land titling process. RF-US also organized workshops for community leaders addressing issues including traditional governance, communal work, land title clearance, and domestic violence, by assisted the community in designing optimized plans for forest management and wildlife protection, and by funded sustainable development projects aimed at rebuilding from Hurricane Felix
Hurricane Felix
The name Felix was used for four tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean.* 1989's Hurricane Felix - A Category 1 storm that dissipated in the Atlantic without threatening land....

.

Panama:

The Kuna people live in the autonomous community of Kuna Yala
Kuna Yala
Guna Yala is an autonomous territory or comarca in Panama, inhabited by the Kuna indigenous people.The name means "Guna-land" or "Guna mountain" in the Kuna language...

, much of which is made up of low-lying islands off the coast of Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...

. Climate change will affect all indigenous groups in Panama, but the Kuna are particularly concerned since many of their communities are already experiencing serious flooding and are threatened by sea level rise. Panama is participating in both the UN’s
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

and the World Bank’s large-scale REDD financing programs aimed at combating climate change. Unfortunately, the government of Panama did not secure the free, prior and informed consent of their indigenous peoples before entering into these programs despite the fact that approximately 30% of Panama’s forests overlap with traditional indigenous territories. The Rainforest Foundation has worked with the Kuna people’s representative NGO to educate Kuna communities on issues related to climate change and REDD, and to ensure that their organization was able to advocate for the indigenous rights agenda in Panama and to bring an informed indigenous voice to bear on REDD policy designs and other development and forestry management programs.

The Wounaan
Embera-Wounaan
The Embera–Wounaan are a group of semi-nomadic Indians in Panama, living in the province of Darien at the shores of the Chucunaque, Sambu, Tuira Rivers and its water ways...

people live primarily in the heavily forested Darién Province
Darién Province
Darién is a province in eastern Panama. It is also the largest province in Panama. It is hot, humid, heavily forested, and sparsely populated, having 48,378 habitants...

of eastern Panama. Twelve Wounaan communities, spread across over 470,000 acres, and home to about 7,000 people, still lack formal legal title to their lands. These lands include significant swaths of untouched rainforest, as well as intact mangrove and lowland forest ecosystems, and ecologically important rivers and estuaries. However, the lands are threatened by the invasions of outsiders who clear forests for agriculture, cattle-raising, and other development projects. The Wounaan peoples argue that they need legal recognition of their land rights in order to protect their natural resources. In late 2008, the Panamanian Congress passed a law which will facilitate the demarcation of indigenous collective land rights, followed in 2010 by a law setting out all the steps necessary for recognition of collective lands. RF-US is working with the Wounaan to formalize recognition for all 12 communities covering all 470,000 acres of land, by providing assistance with legal work, community meetings, gathering necessary documents, and subsequent negotiations with the government.

Examples of Past Projects

Brazil:

The Rainforest Foundation US worked in the state of Pará
Pará
Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...

with indigenous peoples, led by the Xingu peoples
Xingu peoples
Xingui peoples are indigenous peoples of Brazil living near the Xingu River. They have many cultural similarities despite their different ethnologies...

, to inform local communities, through workshops and outreach events, about likely impacts from the hotly-contentious Belo Monte Dam
Belo Monte Dam
The Belo Monte Dam is a proposed hydroelectric dam complex on the Xingu River in the state of Pará, Brazil...

proposed for the Xingu River
Xingu River
The Xingu River , also called Rio Xingu, is a 1,230-mile long, river in north Brazil; it is a southeast tributary of the Amazon River.-Description and history:...

in the region, as well as about the communities’ rights and the resources available to them in expressing those rights and protesting the dam.

The territory of Raposa Serra do Sol
Raposa Serra Do Sol
Reserva Indígena Raposa/Serra do Sol is an Indian reservation in Brazil, intended to be home to the Macuxi people...

, located in the northern Brazilian Amazon, is home to an about 18,000 Macuxi, Wapishana
Wapishana
The Wapishana are an indigenous group found in the Roraima area of southern Guyana and northern Brazil....

, Ingarikó
Ingarikó
The Akawaio are an indigenous people who live in Roraima , Guyana, and Venezuela.They are one of several closely related peoples called Ingarikó and Kapon.-References:...

, Taurepang and Patamona
Patamona
The Patamona are an Amerindian group, known archaeologically from pottery collections in the Yawong Valley and the upper Siparuni River in the Pakaraima Mountains of Guyana. The upper Siparuni was exploited until recently for suitable farm lands, hunting and fishing...

people. For over 30 years these communities have worked together to gain legal recognition of their traditional lands and protection of their rights in the region. They have been opposed by cattle ranchers, rice growers, and others with economic interests in their lands, who have used violence and intimidation against the indigenous peoples to continue their illegal activities. The length of the fight and the severity of the situation, led the Indigenous Council of Roraima
Roraima
Roraima is the northernmost and least populated state of Brazil, located in the Amazon region. It borders the states of Amazonas and Pará, as well as the nations of Venezuela and Guyana. The population is 400,000 and the capital is Boa Vista...

(CIR), together with the Rainforest Foundation US, to file a petition for help with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an autonomous organ of the Organization of American States .Along with the...

in 2004. In April 2005, the Brazilian government formally recognized the indigenous people's rights to their land in Raposa Serra do Sol, with a decree which called for all illegal non-indigenous settlers to leave the territory. Some rice-growers refused to leave and retaliated violently against indigenous communities, leading to further court cases. In 2009, the Supreme Court of Brazil issued a decision reaffirming the rights of the indigenous peoples in Raposa Serra do Sol, and again mandating the exit of the rice-growers.
From 2000 through 2010 the Rainforest Foundation US partnered with the Organization of Indigenous Women of Roraima
Roraima
Roraima is the northernmost and least populated state of Brazil, located in the Amazon region. It borders the states of Amazonas and Pará, as well as the nations of Venezuela and Guyana. The population is 400,000 and the capital is Boa Vista...

(OMIR) to build their organizational capacity so they can better defend the rights and well-being of the indigenous women of Roraima as well as to set up local sources of income in the form of local crafts for sale. The organization also held workshops and informational sessions on priority issues to women, such as domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...

and alcoholism.

Peru:

In 2009 and 2010 the Rainforest Foundation US partnered with a number of indigenous organizations representing the Kandozi and Shapra peoples who live in Datem del Marañón Province
Datem del Marañón Province
The Datem del Marañón is one of the seven provinces in the Loreto Region of Peru. It was created on August 2, 2005 during the presidency of Alejandro Toledo.-Political division:The province is divided into six districts.* Andoas...

, in Peru's
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

northern Amazon, as well as with other NGOs, to find ways for the communities to exercise their legal right to healthcare to the Peruvian state. These communities lack access to all basic social services, particularly health care (a public good and legal right to all Peruvian citizens). They are also threatened by an epidemic of Hepatitis B, as approximately 70% of the entire population was infected in 2000. The Rainforest Foundation US set up community workshops teaching indigenous peoples about their rights and providing them with legal advocacy tools and pro bono expert legal work. The advocacy was successful, and in 2010 government officials traveled to the area to investigate the situation.

Funding

The Rainforest Foundation US is a non-profit organization. The majority of its financing comes from grants from other non-profits organizations, the Rainforest Fund chief among them, as well as from individual and corporate donations.

Corporate Alliances and Promotions

The Rainforest Foundation US has worked together with various companies to promote their cause. Current alliances include:

The Volvic
Volvic
Volvic is a commune in the Puy-de-Dôme department in Auvergne in central France.-History:The church at Volvic is dedicated to “St Priest” . Projectus was killed here in 676 AD.-References:* -External links:***...

“Drink 1,Give 10” campaign in North American markets. From June 27 til December 25th 2011, Volvic is donating 5 cents to the Rainforest Foundation for each bottle of Volvic natural spring water sold. 2011 is the 4th year of this campaign.
The 'philosophy' cosmetics company designed a "green ® multitasking shampoo, shower gel & bubble bath" and is donating 100% of net proceeds from the sale of this product to the Rainforest Foundation US
Opel
Opel
Adam Opel AG, generally shortened to Opel, is a German automobile company founded by Adam Opel in 1862. Opel has been building automobiles since 1899, and became an Aktiengesellschaft in 1929...

automotive company partnered with the Rainforest Foundation US for the Panamanian leg of their current "Project Earth" expedition, billed as an aspect of the company's environmental sustainability efforts.

Criticism

In 2002, 2003, and 2004 the organization was given zero stars out of four by Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator

Charity Navigator is an independent, non-profit organization that evaluates American charities. Its stated goal is "to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America's largest charities."-About:...

, primarily because only 43-60% of funds during those years were spent on programs on the ground. However, since 2008, the Rainforest Foundation US has received four stars out of four, with an efficiency score of 38.93 out of 40.