Skip navigation

Together we can protect and restore our tropical forests

Be a Rainforest Guardian

Tropical forests are so full of life they practically have a heartbeat. But that pulse gets weaker every time a tree is cut down. Help us keep them alive.

  • Map of Indonesia

    Harapan Rainforest, Sumatra

    Dieter Hoffmann, RSPB Head of International Country Programmes

    I first saw this place from a helicopter. Terrifying. Almost all of the lowland rainforest on Sumatra had gone. In its place were palm oil and timber plantations, where very little wildlife lives.

    If we hadn't managed to get a licence for restoring Harapan forest, all of it would be gone by now. There's still a long way to go but we're making great progress.

    Harapan Rainforest is one of the most important conservation projects in the world, costing £2 million a year. Your support makes it possible.

    Donate now
    • Aerial shot of rainforest, Sumatra, Indonesia
    • Palm oil plantation in Sumatra

    Dieter's photos from Sumatra

    Watch video
  • Map of Sierra Leone

    Gola Forest, Sierra Leone

    Jonathan Barnard, RSPB Head of Tropical Forests

    After miles and miles of fields cleared for agriculture and charcoal, suddenly insects are buzzing and you hear the swooshing of huge hornbills overhead. Pygmy hippos gaze from the rivers and rare monkeys jump through the canopy.

    A century ago, the whole coast of west Africa was covered like this, with trees so big it took a dozen people to encircle them. Now 70% of it is gone.

    Thanks to people like you, Gola Forest has been declared a national park by the Sierra Leonean government.

    Donate now
    • Damaged trees in Sierra Leone's Gola Forest
    • The base of an enormous tree near the Sileti river

    Jonathan's photos from Gola

  • Map of Uganda

    Echuya Forest, Uganda

    Eldad Bakeringere, Fruit farmer

    I used to harvest bamboo illegally. I knew it damaged the forest but it was the only way we could make a living. Now, with help from NatureUganda, I grow passion fruit vines.

    The money from the passion fruit has changed my life. It’s helped me provide a better life for my family. I can even afford to send my children to school!

    The key to saving our forests is to work with local people. Your donations directly support projects like this one.

    Donate now
    • Echuya - Muchuya swamp and Virunga volcanoes
  • Map of Selby
    Watch video

    Rainforest Guardians

    Albert Barker from Selby

    In 1956, on my way home from National Service in Hong Kong, we sailed for 3 days down the Malacca Strait close to the Sumatran coast and could see the lush, enticing, rainforest growing down to the water's edge. I was therefore horrified by the devastation caused by logging and hence my small contribution to help save and repair just a small part of it.

    You too can be a Rainforest Guardian. Donating just £5 every month would provide our rangers with a tent to shelter them while they work in the forest.

    Be a Rainforest Guardian

What makes tropical forests so special?

For wildlife

Natural tropical forests are home to at least 70% of the world's land-based plants and animals, sheltering more than 13 million distinct species.

For people

Over one billion people depend on tropical forests, with local communities using them every day for food, water, housing and medicines.

Many of the crops and medicines we rely on - including rubber, cocoa and coffee - have ancestors in tropical forests.

For the planet

Tropical forests naturally lock away billions of tonnes of carbon, playing a vital role in the global battle against climate change.

Deforestation causes up to 20% of all human emissions of greenhouse gases - more than all of the world's transport.

Around the world

With our partners, we're protecting nearly 240,000 hectares of tropical forest in seven countries across the world.

About our partners

Explore the map to find out more about these amazing places

Together, we can all save a rainforest

The work we do wouldn't be possible without the support of people like you. We urgently need you to step up and help us to protect and restore these amazing places.

One-off donations

A donation from you today will help us protect and restore tropical forests. For example, £10 will buy waterproof gear to keep a forest ranger dry.

Donate now

Be a Rainforest Guardian

Give a regular gift and you'll become a Rainforest Guardian. Donating just £5 every month would provide our rangers with a tent to shelter them while they work in the forest.

Be a Rainforest Guardian

Join the RSPB

We're helping nature in so many ways, across the UK and beyond. Your support is crucial. Without people like you, we could not do all of this vital work for nature.

Join now