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With #WorldRainforestDay in mind, here are some of the most creative innovation we've seen that aim to protect rainforests and raise awareness.
According to the organisers of World Rainforest Day, the planet loses about 40 American football fields—or 4,000 yards—worth of rainforests every single minute. Additionally, deforestation causes 15 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions that fuel climate change, which is more than all of the cars in the United States and China put together.
With another World Rainforest Day upon us (22 June), we thought we’d look back into the Springwise archive to unearth some of the most creative ways we’ve seen businesses and other organisations help protect rainforests and raise awareness.
1. MONITORING SYSTEM PROTECTS BRAZILIAN RAINFORESTS
Rainforest Connection uses advanced technology to monitor the rainforest and hence seek to put an end to illegal deforestation.
It has developed bio-acoustic monitoring that uploads rainforest sounds to a platform, which can be accessed and shared worldwide. This real-time data helps inform land management, policy changes and resource distribution. By monitoring the sounds of the rainforest, the organization is also able to pick up on sounds related to poaching.
Read more about Rainforest Connection.
2. WORLD’S FIRST NATURE-BACKED FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT
The venture capital group Single.Earth has developed a way for landowners to earn money for under-utilising their land. Their online platform allows forests, wetlands and other natural areas to generate income by being left alone – eliminating the need for their owners to sell their resources in order to turn a profit. Instead, owners are rewarded for preserving ecosystems.
Single.Earth works by tokenising privately-owned natural resources and areas of ecological significance. Companies and organisations can then purchase the tokens and thus own fractional amounts of the lands and resources. Importantly, investors also receive carbon offsets on their token purchases.
“Knowing that we’ve saved an immensely biodiverse rainforest or restored a degraded land back to a healthy ecosystem where animals return – and at the same time secured the local communities a decent income – is what keeps us going,” Single.Earth’s CEO and co-founder Merit Valdsalu told Springwise.
3. HEALTHCARE DISCOUNTS DISCOURAGE LOGGING TO SAVE THE RAINFOREST
Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) is a non-profit that provides healthcare discounts to villagers who refrain from logging the forest — an act that is hugely damaging to the local endangered wildlife, including 10 per cent of the world’s orangutan population.
ASRI is helping to prevent this by giving villages that stop logging up to 70 per cent off of their medical bills. As a result, the human and natural health of the region has vastly improved; logging has reduced, and infant deaths have fallen by 60 per cent.
4. DIGITAL ‘SMART FOREST’ TECHNOLOGY IMPROVES FOREST MANAGEMENT AND MONITORING
At COP26, the Brazilian government announced targets for ending deforestation – a particularly important issue in a country that is home to nearly two-thirds of the Amazon rainforest. Against this backdrop, it is more important than ever for owners of forest assets to make sustainable decisions based on data.
Sao Paulo-based Treevia is a technology platform that uses machine learning to monitor multiple variables in forest environments. Data is collected through extremely precise internet of things (IoT) sensors embedded within the forest environment. By providing accurate, automated, and structured data, Treevia hopes to empower researchers and forest-based companies to take meaningful actions that improve both productivity and sustainability.
5. BRAND CAMPAIGN FEATURING A MONKEY’S TINDER PROFILE RAISES BIODIVERSITY AWARENESS
Back in 2016, The Body Shop launched a conservation campaign via Tinder and the hashtag #helpreggiefindlove, to raise awareness of its commitment to endangered species.
By swiping right on Reggie the monkey, users received information on his habitat, the Khe Nuoc Trong forest in Vietnam — which is being affected by deforestation — and receive discount codes to spend online.
Read more about The Body Shop’s campaign.
This article was first published on 22/06/2021 and updated in June 2022
