Tropical rainforests are commonly referred to as the planet’s lungs – a crucial organ, without which the rest of our fragile ecosystem will eventually cease to function. The Aurora Trust has had a long-standing focus on protecting rainforests across the world since it was founded (as the Ashden Trust) in 1989.
Most recently, the Trust focuses on forests across Brazil and Indonesia, particularly after it brought together grantees and other experts in 2020 to discuss the opportunities for protecting these environments. Since then, the Trust has built civil society’s capacity to gather evidence on the issues that cause deforestation, whilst supporting organisations and indigenous communities in their efforts to pressure governments and companies to keep trees in the ground.
Strategic communications and legal tools can change laws and regulations, engage new audiences, and bring together groups to challenge a destructive status quo that endangers the world’s rainforests.
During the 2022 Brazilian presidential elections, Purpose Climate Lab Brazil – an expert strategic communications agency – developed a novel, rapid campaign which engaged Brazilian voters in key swing states to reject authoritarian candidates and vote for the protection of forests, the environment and health. Lula Da Silva was elected President, and his government has since been reversing the deforestation and environmental degradation allowed by previous administrations.
Another example of the Trust’s more recent work is ClientEarth: an organisation working to create new laws protecting people and planet. One aspect of the hugely broad work of this charity – founded by lawyer James Thornton, a man who has been a thorn in the side of governments since the Reagan era – is pushing for fresh legislation around deforestation.
ClientEarth co-led a consortium of European and UK- based organisations campaigning for new regulation with the aim of preventing materials derived from deforestation being sold in Europe. They have had significant success, with an EU-wide law adopted in 2023. The legislation obliges companies to verify that their goods are not a result of deforestation or breaches of local environmental laws. The Aurora Trust supported the team at ClientEarth to work on this legislation, as one part of an effort to clarify the links between deforestation and supply chains – then to remove the social licence to sell and use products which have resulted from deforestation.
Evidence-gathering, legal tools and support of local guardians and indigenous communities has been key across the Trust’s 30 years of funding in this area. This work continues to contribute to protecting the rich biodiversity of the planet’s vital rainforests - which is more important than ever.
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