These Rainforest Trust projects exemplify situations where the odds were against successful conservation, but thanks to your generosity and powerful partnerships forged between Rainforest Trust, our partners and Indigenous and local communities around the world, together we have succeeded in achieving the greater good of wildlife conservation for the benefit of all.

Brazil: Saving the Pantanal Jaguar

Covering an area 10 times the size of the Florida Everglades, the Pantanal in western Brazil is the largest tropical wetland and flooded grassland on the planet. The unique and highly
productive ecosystems here are filled with the greatest concentration of wildlife in South America. At the apex of the Pantanal food chain is the largest feline species in the Americas, the Jaguar, and the Pantanal supports the largest Jaguars ever recorded and the highest density of this extraordinary species.

In 2014, Rainforest Trust made one of the first critical conservation investments in the Pantanal, when only 2% of the remarkably intact wetland was protected. At the time, the region was virtually unrecognized as a global priority for conservation. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, we supported our partner, Panthera, with a $500,000 investment towards the purchase of the “Old Jofre Ranch”, totaling 24,640 acres, from its conservation-minded owner. Panthera’s skill in conservation of an area dominated by cattle ranching has been tremendously successful in reducing human-wildlife conflict, enabling the Jaguar population to grow into the most important one in the world. The area is now one of the most popular ecotourism destinations in Latin America, where visitors can view Jaguars sunbathing along the Cuiabá River’s banks, a previously unimaginable glimpse at their lives.

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Indonesia: Where Rare Sumatran Species are Free to Roam

The largest remaining block of rainforest on the Indonesian island of Sumatra is called the “Leuser Ecosystem.” This 6.4-million-acre tropical wilderness is the last place on Earth where critically endangered orangutans, rhinos, elephants and tigers are found together within one ecosystem and it is the only place in the world capable of supporting their survival.

This is a conservation success story that could easily have gone another way, given the fact that the vast majority of Sumatra’s spectacular rainforests have been rampantly destroyed in recent decades to make way for growing swaths of oil palm and rubber plantations. Illegal gold mining, poaching, the development of dams and other infrastructure and changing politics have also presented ongoing challenges to protecting this exceptional region.

Our partner, Forum Konservasi Leuser, is led by people who have worked relentlessly for decades to save the coastal peat swamps, lowland rainforests and high mountaintops here despite the challenges. Our work together, with the support of our generous donors, has so far resulted in 3,329 protected acres with 1,217 acres underway. The project is securing a wildlife corridor vital to the survival of Sumatran Elephants. Safety of the rare, highly coveted species thriving here is maintained by our partner and the government working together to employ the largest trained and locally managed force of rangers in any landscape in Indonesia.

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Chinko: A Vast Wilderness for Lions, Chimps, Elephants… and Wild Dogs

The Chinko landscape in eastern Central African Republic is one of the largest intact and remote wilderness areas left on Earth. It encompasses a rare combination of lowland rainforest and savanna that sustains an incredible diversity of species. To protect this critical unprotected landscape, Rainforest Trust, our donors and our local partner, African Parks, are working together towards the official designation of 5.7 million acres as the Chinko National Park.

Threatened species here experienced drastic population reductions over past decades, exacerbated by political instability and civil conflict in the region that set the stage for exploitation by illegal logging, mining, poaching, and agricultural and cattle ranching operations. But many positive signs indicate that imperiled species are beginning to come back.

• A pack of Endangered African Wild Dogs has been observed, and the presence of younger animals indicates this is a healthy and reproductive pack. This is the largest protected population of the species in Central Western Africa, with about 10 packs of approximately 8-10 wild dogs per pack in Chinko. Wild dogs need between 50,000-500,000 acres of territory to survive long term. Chinko is one of the only places left on the African continent that offers such a vast area for them.
• Two young adult African Lions (also known as Northern Lions, photo above) of around two years old were observed in Chinko. Chinko’s Northern Lion is of crucial importance as this is the only large, well-protected and growing population in Western and Central Africa.
• The Chinko team had the chance to observe a group of 21 Bongo antelopes in the area. Research and monitoring studies show Chinko might host the largest protected population of bongos in the world. With its many rivers, intertwined ecosystems and plentiful forest edges, Chinko is an ideal habitat for species like the Bongo.

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