Alleviating Poverty

Around the world, 1.4 billion people -- many of whom depend on agriculture for their survival -- live on less than $1.25 a day. Left with few options, they resort to clearing land for subsistence agriculture, cutting down trees for firewood and selling illegal timber on the black market, often at prices far below the wood's real value. The small income they derive from these destructive activities is rarely enough to lift them out of poverty and only serves to perpetuate the problem.

What We’re Doing

At the Rainforest Alliance, we believe that you cannot tell an impoverished family or community to put down the axe without providing an alternative. Through certification, we work with farmers and forest managers to provide them with the tools and know-how to manage their natural resources; those that meet rigorous environmental, social and economic standards can use the Rainforest Alliance Certified™ seal to differentiate their products, reach new markets, negotiate better prices, improve their access to credit and lift themselves and their communities out of poverty. With the extra money they earn, they can invest in a more economically secure future.

In the tourism field, we work with indigenous groups and local communities to help them establish and sustainably operate lodges and other tourism businesses, which can provide them with an economically viable alternative to deforestation. Through training and verification, we encourage tourism entrepreneurs to hire local employees and source their goods and services from local businesses, creating an economic ripple effect within communities and surrounding areas.

Our Impact

On Rainforest Alliance Certified™ farms employees receive decent wages, respectable housing and healthcare, and their children have access to education.
One of the main goals of sustainable tourism is to provide jobs for people living in and around travel destinations. Among the employees of tourism businesses verified by the Rainforest Alliance during 2007 and 2008, 90 percent of full-time and seasonal staff were local people.
While a salary of $2 a day may sound low to most westerners, in developing countries, it is a benchmark for a wage that is above the poverty line. At businesses certified or verified by the Rainforest Alliance, nearly all employees earn at least $2 per day. Here’s the breakdown by industry:
- 98.9 percent of full-time employees on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms earn at least $2 per day.
- 100 percent of full-time employees on FSC/Rainforest Alliance Certified forestry operations earn at leastf $2 per day.
- 100 percent of tourism employees in four of the countries where our program is active earn a at least $2 per day.
On Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, 28,534 children received some form of educational assistance, including scholarship awards, donated supplies and access to classes.
On Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, production generally increases, quality and efficiency improves and fewer worker complaints are received. According to a 2008 study, a group of farmers in El Salvador working toward Rainforest Alliance certification saw their productivity rise by an average of 76 percent over the previous year.

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