Rainforest Trust: protecting high-integrity forest habitat in Laos

The Annamite Mountains span the Laos-Vietnam border and contain forest regions rich in carbon and biodiversity. But this habitat had been coming under increasing risk from gold mining and illegal logging. To combat deforestation risk in the area, Rainforest Trust and their partner, WWF Laos, are working to expand the Protected Area by 118,221 acres. This protected area increases forest habitat for the high concentration of endemic species in the region, while also safely storing 15.6 million metric tonnes of C02e.

To ensure longevity of protection, Rainforest Trust and their partner have developed a programme focusing on income-generating ideas and start-up support for residents who live in communities surrounding the protected area. The programme will provide training and small financial loans to start new businesses or improve agricultural practices to make them more sustainable.

Global Returns Portfolio contributors helped to protect 822 acres through this project. This area safely stores
around 141,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents.