Small wooden homes on the banks of the Yanayacu River near Iquitos, Peru

About Us

Mission

The mission of the Rainforest Foundation is to support indigenous and traditional peoples of the world’s rainforests in their efforts to protect their environment and fulfill their rights by assisting them in:

  • Securing and controlling the natural resources necessary for their long term well being and managing these resources in ways which do not harm their environment, violate their culture or compromise their future; and​
  • Developing the means to protect their individual and collective rights and to obtain, shape and control basic services from the state.

History

Historical image from the late 1980's of Sting shaking hands with Chief Raoni of the Kayapo people of Brazil
Rainforest Foundation founder Sting with Raoni Metuktire, Chief of the Megranoti-Kayapo people, Xingu Indigenous Territory, Brazil, in November 1990. Credit: Sue Cunningham

More than 30 years ago, Chief Raoni of Brazil’s indigenous Kayapo people asked Sting and Trudie Styler to support the Kayapo to protect their traditional lands and culture. In 1989, Sting and Trudie established the Rainforest Foundation and spent the organization’s formative years fighting for the Kayapo people’s land rights. The collaboration led to a historic success in 1993: the legal recognition and protection of the 4,914,000 hectare Menkragnoti Territory, the ancestral lands of the Kayapo. From 1994, the Foundation started applying its approach to include similar initiatives in other parts of Brazil and South America and from 1996, it expanded operations to the rainforest regions of Africa and Indonesia.

The Rainforest Family

Today, the Rainforest Foundation is the biggest NGO working on rights-based forest protection worldwide. The Foundation is composed of three national organizations, based in Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the Rainforest Fund, which provides program support to the national organizations and to selected projects on the ground. All four share the same mission statement, vision, and values. The Foundation’s national organizations specialize in different geographies, with Rainforest Foundation US working mostly in Central and South America, Rainforest Foundation UK working mostly in the Congo Basin and Rainforest Foundation Norway operating across the tropical belt.

Rainforest Foundation US

Rainforest Foundation Norway

Rainforest Foundation UK

Combined Efforts

People

Team

Rainforest Foundation US's team members pose in front of the huge roots of a Kapok tree

Get to know the team behind the work of creating a vibrant future with nature and people at the core.

Board

An indigenous community presents members of RFUS's Board of Directors with a tapestry featuring the organization's logo

Learn more about the leaders and experts supporting Rainforest Foundation US to realize its vision.

Partners

Indigenous community members examine a map of their territory

Rainforest Foundation US partners with indigenous peoples’ communities and organizations in Central and South America.

Work With Us

A green parrot sits on the shoulder of Rainforest Foundation US's Peru Country Director, Tom Bewick

Rainforest Foundation US is seeking dedicated professionals to join the fight against tropical deforestation.

Financials & Transparency

Browse all Rainforest Foundation US financial, tax, and grant documents

Browse Documents

Our Office

Rainforest Foundation US is headquartered in New York City, USA

Contact Us

Support Our Work

The climate crisis is an existential threat. Biodiversity loss is staggering. And human rights are in jeopardy. Your contribution can make a difference.

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Adam Janos
Writer and Editorial Content Specialist

Adam Janos is Rainforest Foundation US’s lead writer and storyteller, translating programmatic impacts and capturing the human face of RFUS’s partnerships for the organization’s priority engagement needs. He brings over 10 years of professional writing experience to the organization, having contributed to several outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, The Budapest Times, and A&E, amongst others. He’s also a published fiction writer and playwright. Adam holds a Master’s in Creative Writing from Rutgers University-Camden. He is bilingual in Hungarian and fluent in Spanish, which he learned while traveling the Pan-American Highway in his early twenties. That’s also when he came to know the rich indigenous cultures of the continent and the stunning forests that house them, ultimately guiding him to this work.