Rainforests
Table of Contents
Introduction
Rain forests are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, and among the best at sequestering greenhouse gases including CO2.
Threats to Rainforests
Rainforests are under threat from deforestation, wild fires, rising climate temperatures, air pollution which harms organisms such as mosses, invasive species, sea level rise and more.
Deforestation leads to desertification, which makes ambient temperatures in and around forests grow even higher. When roads are created through forests, they can create hotter zones, but perhaps worse, they can become vectors for invasive plants and animals.
Click the Deforestation button to learn which human activities cause the most harm to forests. At the bottom of the page, are historical examples for different regions.
Calls to Action
This section includes some general guidelines, as well as some specific options for specific locations. Scroll down to see if there are specific campaigns, programs, or petitions to help save your local rainforests.
Africa
Tanzania
Tanzania’s Magombera Forest "Rainforest Trust is working with local partner Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG) to purchase 3,030 acres for the creation of the new Magombera Nature Reserve."
Europe
UK
Importance of Rainforests
Biodiversity
Climate
Clouds
Trees make clouds by releasing small quantities of vapors called “sesquiterpenes.”
Temperature Control
Rainforests cool hot regions by providing shade and via respiration, rainforest plants help reduce ambient temperatures.
Rainforests help maintain warmer temperatures at night, unlike the bitter cold experienced even in the hottest deserts.
Water Cycle
Rainforests absorb rainfall, preventing flooding, instead helping water sink into aquifers
Via respiration, forests help create clouds which provide rain further inland.
Trees and other plants help to clean pollution from rain, air, and soil. This in turn protects us from pesticides and other pollutants which could otherwise get into our drinking water or crops.
Historical & Current Ranges
By understanding the historical ranges of these ecosystems, we can gain an idea of where it would be appropriate to replant and regnerate rainforests.
Some people may be surprised by locations such as the UK, but thanks to marine winds, we still have some fragments pockets of rainforest, and we could help restore them to help meet our climate goals.
You can also scroll down to the map Section for visual guides on this topic.
Africa
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Congo
Cote d'Ivoire
Democratic Republic of Congo
Equatorial Guinea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Liberia
Madagascar
Mozambique
Nigeria
Tanzania
"The rainforests of Tanzania occupy very small areas, mostly confined to isolated mountains."
"Intensive cultivation due to heavy population pressure affects the reserves from all sides, leaving the forests isolated, fragmented ‘islands’ surrounded by the cultural landscape. Former timber production and logging programs initiated by the State and some foreign development organizations have depleted large areas of rain forests, e.g. in the Usambara Mountains. Extensive, destructive, legal and illegal activities such as, e.g. logging, pit-sawing and grazing have taken place inside most of the forest reserves. Some research programs on rain forest catchments are now being carried out in Tanzania, forming a basis for future management and monitoring of the forest reserves. The forest authorities are currently much concerned about the problems, giving catchment forest management highest priority in the Tropical Forestry Action Plan." - Tanzania's Vanishing Rain Forests — Assessment of Nature Conservation Values, Biodiversity and Importance for Water Catchment
Senegal
Sierra Leone
South Sudan
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Asia
Azerbaijan
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
Cambodia
China
East Timor
Georgia
India
Indonesia
Iran
Japan
Laos
Malaysia
Borneo
Myanmar (Burma)
Nepal
Philippines
Sri Lanka
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Vietnam
Europe
Albania
Azores
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Perućica "On the southeastern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, lies a rainforest. And not a small one either. Perucica is Europe's largest rainforest, covering 3 500 acres of land in enchanting, ancient growth. Running down deep valleys and along the slopes of towering limestone peaks, this part of Europe still feels wild and little-explored."
Croatia
France
Iceland
Ireland
Kosovo
Madeira
"Currently, it occupies an area of around 15.000 hectares in Madeira, which corresponds to 20% of the island, with greater expression in the high areas of the north. This subtropical rainforest is composed mainly of species endemic to Macaronesia." - Visit Madeira
Montenegro
Temperate rainforest, specifically this might include some of Perućica.
Norway
Portugal
Russia
Serbia
Spain
UK
"Despite their importance and significance, Britain’s temperate rainforests now only remain in fragmented pockets, including in Dartmoor National Park. Historically, temperate rainforests covered a much larger area of Britain and, thanks to our maritime climate, the habitat has the potential to cover 5% of England and 20% of Britain overall. To compare, just 10% of England and 13% of Britain is currently covered by woodland, and the majority of this is conifer plantations." - Lost Rainforests of Britain
Scotland
A 17:49 minute video about the history of Scotland's mostly-lost rainforests, and what is now being done to try and restore them.
North America
Antigua & Barbuda
Barbados
Belize
Canada
Costa Rica
Cuba
Dominica
Dominican Republic
El Salvador
Guatemala
Grenada
Haiti
Honduras
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Puerto Rico
St. Kitts & Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent & Grenadines
Trinidad & Tobago
USA
Oceana
Australia
ACT
NSW
Tasmania
Victoria
Fiji
Nauru
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Papua New Guinea
Solomon Islands
Tuvalu
Vanuatu
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
"Colombia’s Magdalena Valley, centered around the 700-mile Magdalena River basin, contains lowland rainforest with flora and fauna from neighboring Amazon, Chocó and Central American regions, making it one of the most biodiverse areas on Earth. The basin is larger than the state of Colorado yet has incredibly high endemism, providing vital habitat for many threatened species that live no where else, like the Critically Endangered Blue-billed Curassow and the Magdalena Spider Monkey, considered one of the rarest primates on Earth. The area is also home to populations of the Magdalena Lowland Tapir (a Critically Endangered subspecies), Jaguar and Spectacled Bear.
Unfortunately, over 98% of the region’s lowland rainforest in the Magdalena Valley has been destroyed, principally for cattle ranching and illicit coca production. Located only 85 miles north of Colombia’s capital city, Bogotá, the region’s last stand of lowland rainforest is under intense pressure from illegal logging. Less than 2% of the region’s lowland forest remains intact." - Rainforest Trust
Ecuador
"The Chocó in Ecuador experienced some of the highest deforestation rates in the country – 98% of this rainforest has been cleared. With escalating rates of deforestation from unsustainable development and agriculture, it is only a matter of time before this critical forest is lost forever and the unique species that rely on it are faced with extinction." - Rainforest Trust
French Guiana
Guyana
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venazuela
Resources & Guides
The following may be helpful in acquiring resources, planning, and more.
Click the Trees button for free trees or financial support for your tree planting projects.
Europe
UK
Woodland Trust: Temperate Rainforest includes a list of associated species and some forest locations.
Organizations
Africa
Cameroon
Cameroon Wildlife Conservation Society (CWCS) "is a lead national environment NGO in Cameroon founded in February 1997. The organisation’s head office is in Yaoundé. CWCS is administered by a board of directors with more than 100 registered members comprising environment experts, young conservation professionals and students."
Rainforest Trust "is working with local partner, Cameroon Wildlife Conservation Society (CWCS), to elevate the protected status of Douala-Edea Wildlife Reserve to a national park while increasing the reserve by 375,303 acres of mangrove forests, rivers, wetlands and marine habitats. Collectively, this expansion and conversion to a national park will actively safeguard a total of 741,000 acres."
Guinea
Rainforest Trust "and our partner, The Wild Chimpanzee Foundation, are working with the government of Guinea and local communities to create the 560,512-acre Pinselli-Soyah-Sabouyah National Park. The new park will connect to the adjacent Outamba-Kilimi National Park (182,364 acres) to the south in Sierra Leone to create a vast wildlife corridor for wide-roaming species like the elephant."
Tanzania
Rainforest Trust "is working with local partner Tanzania Forest Conservation Group (TFCG) to purchase 3,030 acres for the creation of the new Magombera Nature Reserve."
Asia
Borneo
Borneo Nature Foundation "Our mission is to protect, maintain and enhance the rainforests of Borneo, the biodiversity found within and the benefits that these provide for people. Our research is essential to help us understand these complex ecosystems and the wildlife that depends upon them so that we can develop the best strategies to conserve them.
Forests across Borneo are home to many critically endangered species, flora and fauna, but they are disappearing rapidly. Forest fires and clearance for plantations and agriculture are destroying vital habitat. Logging, mining and encroachment by the ever-expanding human population are threatening the forests that provide important ecosystem services to local communities.
We work with these communities to develop sustainable livelihoods, and support Social Forestry initiatives that empower communities to manage their forests and protect natural resources for the future."
Laos
Rainforest Trust "and our partner, Wildlife Conservation Society, are working to safeguard 151,428 acres in Laos. The proposed Eastern Bolikhamxay Mountains National Protected Area will encompass the southern half of the Eastern Bolikhamxay Mountains and include the headwaters of the Nam Chat and Nam Pan rivers."
Europe
UK
Plantlife "British temperate rainforests are of global importance, having the greatest concentration of oceanic lichens and mosses in Europe, they are rare habitats. Plantlife is working to protect their long-term future."
The Wildlife Trusts "are working with others to restore and expand our temperate rainforests."
Scotland
Alliance for Scotland's Rainforest "aims to establish and fund a series of landscape-scale projects across the rainforest zone, which urgently need funding and support."
National Trust for Scotland "is a member of the Alliance for Scotland’s Rainforest, a voluntary partnership of 20 organisations with a shared interest in ‘Saving Scotland’s Rainforest’. The group’s vision is to see Scotland’s rainforest thrive once again. In May 2019 the Alliance launched ‘The State of Scotland’s Rainforest’ – a report that clearly outlines the danger this habitat is in and what we need to do to save it."
Wales
National Trust Cymru "grows Celtic rainforests of the future in new tree nursery"
LIFE Celtic Rainforests Project "is a conservation project led by Snowdonia National Park Authority and other partners working within the National Park.
This £7 million project protects and restores Snowdonia’s Celtic rainforests."
North America
Haiti
Haiti National Trust "works to conserve the biodiversity and natural ecosystems of Haiti through research, education, outreach and national/international partnerships."
South America
Brazil
Rainforest Trust "and our partner, Instituto Internacional de Educação do Brasil, will protect 2,262,878 acres in the states of Amazonas and Pará in the Brazilian Amazon for species and people who make their homes here. This protection will be achieved through designations that legally recognize land tenure of traditional communities and their long-standing role in managing their lands."
Colombia
Pro Aves "works to protect its 27 Nature Reserves, conserving more than 65,000 hectares of key ecosystems for Colombia’s biodiversity, including alpine tundra ecosystems such as the páramo and subpáramo, mountain forests, tropical rainforests, tropical dry forests, and mangrove swamps."
Rainforest Trust: Saving the Last Rainforest in Colombia's Magdalena Valley "The Magdalena Valley is larger than the state of Colorado yet has incredibly high endemism, providing vital habitat for many threatened species that live nowhere else on Earth." ... "After years of negotiations, Rainforest Trust and our local partner ProAves have secured the purchase rights to a strategic 1,178-acre property at $285 per acre. The new parcel is strategically located beside the most vulnerable flank of El Paujil Bird Reserve and would block road access for loggers."
Ecuador
FCAT (Fundación para la Conservación de los Andes Tropicales) "Restauración de bosques en extinción y conservación de especies en peligro de extinción con las comunidades ecuatorianas locales"
Rainforest Trust "In order to halt habitat destruction and preserve what remains of the Chocó, Rainforest Trust and our local partner Fundación para la Conservación de los Andes Tropicales (FCAT) are working to safeguard 398 acres of rainforest to create a corridor of protection between two existing protected areas: the Mache Chindul National Ecological Reserve and the Cube Lagoon Conservation Area.
The new protected area will not only provide connectivity for wildlife, but also increase the security of the existing reserves and the local communities’ land from encroachment. This project is of national significance, because it would improve the ability to manage and patrol one of the most threatened habitats of Ecuador."
Maps
International
Temperate Rainforest scroll down to see map, and click to enlarge. Shows forests from Alaska to California (though Canada), some western US states, southern Chile and Argentina, Northern Spain and Portugal, part of France, all of the Irelands, southern Iceland, Eastern Norway, and parts of southwestern Europe, parts of East Asia (northern parts of the Middle East), parts of western Asia, Parts of Australia, and most of New Zealand.
Africa
Tanzania
From Cardamom to Carbon: Bold New Tanzanian Project is Regrowing a Rainforest shows a map of forest reserves and a corridor connecting the two.
Europe
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Madeira
Laurisilva (or laurel forest) scroll down to see map.
Montenegro
UK
Lost Rainforests of Britain (interactive) Scroll around and click tree symbols to see coordinates, names, and sometimes photos of these different remnants of UK's rainforests.
Public Create Map of Britain's Lost Rainforests Scroll in to see index of hygrothermy of different areas. Use the layers to explore historical range, modern remnants, as well as the names and locations of liverworts, mosses, and lichens.
Grants
International
The LUSH Spring Prize "A £200,000+ prize fund and other support activities, to build capacity for those repairing the earth’s damaged systems and leaving the world lusher than they found it."