Good News : Against All Odds
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 . 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 .
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 .
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 sumatran elephant | teuku boyaqie
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
4 jaguar in the pantanal | courtesy of partner panthera