Each year, out of respect for and appreciation of our clients, AMS makes a charitable donation to better the world. For the second year we have made our donation to the Rainforest Trust, and specifically the Rainforest Climate Action Fund.
The Rainforest Trust purchases and protects the most threatened tropical forests, saving endangered wildlife through partnerships and community engagement. The goals of the Rainforest Trust are to save endangered species, protect our planet, and engage people in the conservation mission.
The vision of the Rainforest Trust sees a future where half of the Earth’s lands and waters are protected, providing refuge for wildlife and stabilizing the climate. Deforestation and habitat loss is the number one cause of extinction and also is responsible for a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions, so protecting tropical forests is critical to stemming biodiversity loss and climate change.
An Inspiring Example
This year we would like to share a story about one specific forest that the rainforest climate action fund has been investing in. This success story is a hard-fought battle for the Peruvian Amazon. From the org’s website we read the following:
The Peruvian Amazon is the second-largest swath of the Amazon, after the Brazilian. It covers nearly 60% of Peru’s landscape and is the life force for everything around it, including 12,810 species. These forests are home to hundreds of Indigenous communities, who rely solely on this land to survive. The local benefits are obvious, but the Peruvian Amazon is also vital in the global fight against climate change as one of our planet’s most important carbon stores, containing over 49 billion metric tons of CO2 equivalents.
Despite its critical importance, this landscape is under significant threat from agricultural development. Slash-and-burn deforestation is rampant, resulting in uncontrollable wildfires that burn for weeks at a time releasing millions of tons of carbon into the atmosphere, putting the future of the planet in jeopardy. Deforestation rates are the highest in decades, driving species out of their habitat and leaving countless people with no refuge.
Rainforest Trust began investing in the protection of the Peruvian Amazon with our partner, Center for the Development of an Indigenous Amazon (CEDIA) over 25 years ago. Working together, Rainforest Trust and CEDIA have embarked upon a multi-year, multi-project journey to prevent deforestation to the benefit of communities and wildlife.
Empowering Local Indigenous Communities
CEDIA’s approach focused on empowering local Indigenous communities to gain legal rights to their land, thus preventing commercial land developers from obtaining the land and destroying their forest home. “One of our organization’s founding principles is that every acre legally secured for a strong and well-organized Indigenous community is an acre secured for conservation. More than one hundred communities titled in the frame of our joint work with Rainforest Trust, proves this idea right,” said Dani Rivera, CEDIA Project Director.
So far, we have protected nearly 14 million acres through several large-scale projects—an area larger than the entire state of Maryland. Many of our endeavors are still ongoing; we are currently working to protect an additional 1.6 million acres.
Please enjoy the conclusion of this story, plus more stories and beautiful images HERE at their website.
Happy Holidays from AMS!
AMS Fulfillment is so pleased to be able to help in these battles for our Earth. As a certified B Corporation we celebrate the inspiring successes of Rainforest Trust and the Rainforest Climate Action Fund, and we are proud to contribute on behalf of our clients. We believe that donating to this fund may be the most effective tool we have, at this time, to fight climate change and create a healthier future for our planet and all who inhabit it. We are confident that our clients, our employees, our community and our investors join with us in concern for the future of our shared world.