WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rainforest Trust, a leading conservation nonprofit that protects the most threatened tropical forests, released the following statement from its Acting CEO Mark Gruin in response to the ongoing fires causing devastation to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil:
As most are aware, the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest, is ablaze. Tens of thousands of fires are raging across Brazil at a record rate, before the dry season even begins. The scale and severity of the fires that are currently burning in Brazil, and elsewhere — including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, Angola, Peru and Bolivia — is frightening. Fueled by an increasingly unstable climate and the relentless clearing of forests, this devastation is often driven by politics, misinformation or the pursuit of short-term economic gain. These tragic blazes call all of us to action.
Each of us can do our part. At Rainforest Trust, we save rainforest, and that protects biodiversity and stores carbon. The fires in the Amazon should be a wake-up call for everyone to do something even after the news cycle passes. For individuals, that means speaking out, educating, voting and supporting conservation work. For nations, that means partnering with nonprofits like ours that have sustainable models that support and preserve local cultures. But most immediately, we implore Brazil to accept help to get beyond the crisis.
Rainforest Trust knows these forests, and the indigenous and local communities that rely on them. We know the science and understand the sobering reality that the world is rapidly approaching an irreversible tipping point. Forests and species must be protected — for biodiversity, for nature-dependent ecosystem services like clean water and healthy soils, and for our climate.
For more than 30 years, Rainforest Trust has been identifying important habitat in dire need of protection. Through outright purchase, titling and designation, we establish protected areas that significantly reduce fires like these. The world’s attention can be short, but ours never wavers.
These fires are real and serious and what we do today — all of us — determines the kind of world we will have tomorrow.
Reporters interested in speaking with Gruin or learning more about Rainforest Trust should contact Shawn Flaherty at 703-554-3609 or Alex Antram at 210-410-2394.
About Rainforest Trust
Rainforest Trust is a leading international conservation organization that has been steadfast in its mission for over 30 years to save endangered species through the purchase and protection of imperiled tropical habitats in partnership with local partners and communities. Since its founding in 1988, Rainforest Trust has helped protect over 23 million acres of rainforest and other habitats in more than 125 project sites around the world. Presently, Rainforest Trust is working to establish a network of over 190 protected areas toward its goal of strategically protecting 50 million acres by 2020. Rainforest Trust has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, and 100% of project gifts directly fund vital conservation action.
