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Approaches

Rainforest Foundation US (RFUS) partners with Indigenous peoples to protect vital rainforest ecosystems and address the climate crisis. We provide support to Indigenous communities and organizations to secure their rights to their traditional lands and livelihoods. As an organization, RFUS prides itself on being nimble and flexible, engaging with our partners over the long term on initiatives based on their priorities and aspirations. 

The following are among the key ways RFUS supports its partners:

Territorial Monitoring

RFUS’s territorial monitoring program, called Rainforest Alert, provides training, tools and financial support to Indigenous organizations to map, monitor, and secure their territories using cost effective technology like smartphones and drones.

Land Management

RFUS advises communities to build participatory, bottom-up land management plans to protect their forests and to set the stage for sustainable livelihoods that respect their values, beliefs, and ways of life.

Policy & Advocacy

RFUS supports partners to advocate for national and international policy change as it relates to Indigenous peoples’ rights, forest protection and restoration, natural resource management, climate action, and biodiversity preservation.

Institutional Strengthening

RFUS invests directly in Indigenous peoples’ organizations, and partners with them to strengthen their: integral governance; communications; and administrative, management, and financial capacities.

Land Titling & Legal Intervention

RFUS works with Indigenous peoples to obtain legal representation to secure land rights, settle disputes, and seek justice for human rights violations perpetrated against environmental defenders.

Reports

Recursos para Titulares de Derechos sobre los Mercados de Carbono

El mercado de carbono voluntario está evolucionando rápidamente en los bosques tropicales alrededor del mundo, creando un complejo panorama de nuevos actores, normas y requisitos que los pueblos indígenas y las comunidades locales deben navegar para proteger sus derechos. Con el objetivo de apoyar a estas comunidades, sus organizaciones y líderes, Rainforest Foundation US ha comisionado a Climate, Law and Policy para desarrollar una serie de análisis que detallan los requisitos asociados a las salvaguardas.

Stories

Indigenous organizations are building strong foundations to secure their rights and territories

In a world where the voices of Indigenous, Afro-descendant, and traditional communities are often sidelined, it’s imperative to create spaces that prioritize these perspectives to foster meaningful shifts within the funding ecosystem. In February 2024, Entre Povos—an initiative whose purpose is to strengthen institutions and advance its member organizations’ rights to good lives—organized a gathering in Colombia to promote dialogue, exchange, and learning among these communities.

Stories

Breaking Barriers, Building Futures: Indigenous Women Take the Lead in the Peruvian Amazon

Indigenous women in Ucayali and Loreto province, Peru, are shattering gender barriers and reshaping traditions. Despite enduring historical exclusion from leadership roles, they are now rewriting this narrative.

Discover how the Affirmative Measures Project, led by the Rainforest Foundation US team in Peru, is bridging the gap for women to actively participate and lead.

Support Our Work

Rainforest Foundation US is tackling the major challenges of our day: deforestation, the climate crisis, and human rights violations. Your donation moves us one step closer to creating a more sustainable and just future.

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Didier Devers
Chief of Party – USAID Guatemala
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Didier has been coordinating the USAID-funded B’atz project since joining Rainforest Foundation US in April 2022. He holds a Master’s in Applied Anthropology and a Bachelor’s in Geography. Before joining the organization, Didier worked for 12 years in Central and South America on issues of transparency, legality, governance, and managing stakeholders’ processes in the environmental sector. Prior to that he worked on similar issues in Central Africa. He speaks French, Spanish, and English, and is based in Guatemala.