An update by Rainforest Trust UK -
Safeguarding forests of any type and keeping the carbon they capture stored in wood and earth is one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways to fight climate change. This impact is increased when we protect forests and vegetation that sequester more—like mangroves and peat forests—or when we halt the imminent destruction of an old growth forest.
In 2021, Rainforest Trust launched the Rainforest Climate Action Fund (RCAF) to give our donors the choice to target their support to projects with the greatest potential to mitigate climate change. RCAF funds are used in projects identified by Rainforest Trust staff as protecting supersequesters, frontier forests and carbon vaults.
To date, the Rainforest Climate Action Fund has supported 10 Rainforest Trust projects worldwide. These projects, once complete, will permanently lock up an amount of CO2 equivalent to that emitted by 192 million vehicles driven for one year. Our goal is to permanently lock up 15 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalents by 2025.
Protecting Mangroves in Cuba - For example in Cuba, Rainforest Trust and Wildlife Conservation Society, together with the local Antonio Nuñez Jimenez Foundation, are creating the new 22,574- acre Cananovas Habitat/Species Management Area. These acres will store more than 2.4 million metric tons of CO2 equivalents. Thriving where land meets the water, mangrove forests in this proposed protected area will sequester carbon at a rate as much as 10 times greater than a mature tropical forest. Stopping Deforestation at the Edge of the
Bolivian Amazon Rainforest Trust and our partner, Fundación Natura Bolivia, protected 2,259,969 acres of rich, old-growth, lowland rainforest in Bajo Paragua. The San Ignacio and Concepción Municipal Protected Area locks up 374,575,213 metric tons of CO2 equivalents. A substantial reduction in deforestation and fires, particularly during fire season—July through November—has been noted since activities for this project began.
Safeguarding Rainforests and Biodiversity in Madagascar Rainforest Trust and our partner, Nitidae, are working to establish protection for 275,325 acres of Madagascar’s Beampingaratsy rainforest. This old-growth forest is home to many threatened species found only on Madagascar. In addition, this parcel of land meets the criteria for RCAF funding as both a frontier forest and a carbon vault. Safeguarding this land from illegal logging and deforestation will lock up 43,367,857 metric tons of CO2 equivalents.