Projects of our partners on the ground
The rainforest projects of our partners line up along the equator like a string of pearls. Indigenous rainforest defenders, eco-guards and activists are in the field every day to protect irreplaceable ecosystems and the homes of Indigenous and traditional forest communities. Want to know more? Here is a selection of the more than 50 projects that we support with your donations.
A radio station for communities and nature
Northwestern Tanzania's wilderness is world-renowned. But for the Maasai people, this blessing is also a curse, as the government tramples on their rights in the name of “conservation”. A radio station aims to be a voice of reconciliation: People who are informed and know their rights can shape their own future and work toward living together in harmony.
A network for forests in the Congo Basin
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), our partner organization RIAO-RDC networks and coordinates numerous environmentalists from its base in Kinshasa.
Risking their freedom for nature and democracy
Mother Nature Cambodia reaches millions of people with its successful and courageous campaigns for nature, often at the cost of the activists’ own freedom.
Protecting the Tapanuli orangutan forest
In the orangutan forest of Tapanuli and around Lake Toba, two villages have won their forest rights. Now they are protecting the rainforest and reforesting degraded land.
Brazil: Defending the Amazon against global demand for commodities
Justiça nos Trilhos supports the people in the Amazon rainforest who are threatened by the production and mining of raw materials such as soy and iron ore for export.
Mangroves, peat bogs, swamps: protecting Aceh’s wetlands
Our partner, the Aceh Wetland Foundation, is working to conserve and restore Indonesia's mangrove forests, peat bogs and swamps.
Resisting mining in Sulawesi
Mining for gold, nickel, sand and minerals is devastating the natural paradise of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The JATAM Sulteng anti-mining network is fighting back with lawsuits and campaigns.
Freedom for captive wildlife: the amaZOOnico wildlife conservation center
The amaZOOnico wildlife sanctuary in the Ecuadorian rainforest cares for wild animals confiscated by the authorities and prepares them for release into the wild. We support the release of white-bellied spider monkeys and Brazilian giant tortoises and enrichment of the 1,750-hectare Selva Viva protected forest with fruit trees.
Bonobo conservation: fostering trust with a school
Bonobos live deep in the rainforests of the Congo Basin. They are less well known than other great apes, but just as threatened. Scientists founded Bonobo Alive to protect them: The organization fights commercial poaching and supports schoolchildren in three villages on the edge of Salonga National Park so that they too can benefit from bonobo conservation.
Stopping the EACOP oil pipeline
The fossil fuel industry is not letting the climate crisis get in the way of its African oil boom: TotalEnergies is even drilling in Uganda's Murchison Falls National Park. A 1,445-kilometer pipeline is planned to connect the oil fields to the export port of Tanga. Our partner organization Tasha is educating communities about the dangers of the project and supporting those already impacted by it.
Leuser: a place for orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants
On Sumatra, our partner Forum Konservasi Leuser is working to protect one of the most biodiverse forests on the planet: The Leuser Ecosystem is the last place where elephants, tigers, orangutans and rhinos share the same habitat. Yet roads cut into the jungle are attracting poachers and illegal loggers. Our two ranger teams protect particularly vulnerable areas from the peat bogs to the mountains.
Protecting Borneo’s rainforests and empowering Indigenous people
Resisting the destruction of the ancient forest giants has made true fighters out of the activists of Save Our Borneo (SOB). Their mission is to stand in the way of palm oil companies and help Indigenous people secure urgently needed land rights.
Protecting the forest with the Túumben K’óoben Indigenous women’s cooperative
The Selva Maya, or Mayan Forest, is the largest contiguous tropical forest in Central America, the habitat of jaguars and other rare wildlife. An Indigenous women's cooperative wants to buy forest plots here to stop a destructive infrastructure project and to preserve nature and their Indigenous traditions.
Eco-Guards: monitoring the forest at Afi Mountain
Gorillas, chimpanzees and forest elephants still live around Afi Mountain and in Cross River National Park, a small area in eastern Nigeria. Our partner organization Devcon is dedicated to protecting the region by training Eco-Guards and helping local communities develop environmentally friendly sources of income.
Protecting the forest with ancient rites and a radio program
In the homeland of environmental activist Lamin Seidi Cani, the forests are said to be teeming with ghosts and demons. The eerie ones are a force for good, as the spirituality of the local people is a strong driver of conservation. The power of radio has also been enlisted to the cause of nature.
Saving the rainforest of southern Papua and empowering Indigenous Papuans
The rainforests in Papua are experiencing an unprecedented onslaught of timber, palm oil and mining companies. Land grabbing and clear cutting are rife. Indigenous Papuans are losing their livelihoods as the forest disappears. The environmental and human rights organization Pusaka is mounting a defense against environmental destruction and land grabbing.
Guardians of the jungle: protecting chimpanzee habitat
Chimpanzees are our closest relatives, yet we have pushed them to the brink of extinction. Preserving their habitat is a crucial part of protecting them. Conservation efforts can only succeed in close cooperation with local communities, and women are playing a key role in this work.
The Ka’apor people: defending the Amazon rainforest
The indigenous Ka’apor are defending the last large rainforest area in the southeastern Amazon region, driving out illegal loggers and poachers.
Securing the land rights of Indigenous people
Environmentalist Matek Geram is a staunch advocate of the Iban people. He is helping them defend their land rights by mapping the communities’ traditional territory.
Giving captive birds their freedom
In Indonesia, the illegal trade in birds is booming – to the point that forests are falling silent. Our partner organization FLIGHT is fighting the poachers, putting pressure on policymakers, and awakening people’s love of birds in the wild.
Enforcing the rights of nature in court
Mining companies have the copper and gold deposits beneath the rainforests of the Ecuadorian Andes in their sights. Our partner organization OMASNE is leading the grass-roots resistance against mining – and recently won a spectacular verdict for the rights of nature.
The Batwa people and the gorillas
On the outskirts of Kahuzi-Biega National Park, home to critically endangered gorillas, the organization CAMV is campaigning on behalf of the Indigenous Batwa people.