Who is cutting down rainforests around the world? And why?

The reasons why people cut down these forests are complex. It is not blind destruction—often, people see deforestation or gold mining as the only and fastest way to improve their financial situation and feed their families. Very few can afford long-term investments. There is also a lack of expertise and training in alternative sources of income such as ecotourism or agroforestry. This is exactly where we come in with our projects in Peru and try to offer as many Peruvians as possible an alternative source of income. We also see an important part of our work in the early teaching of knowledge and understanding of the forest and its inhabitants, e.g., through local school projects or local scholarships that we award. 

In Canada, too, people make their living from the forestry industry. Timber production is a traditional and very important economic sector with an influential and financially powerful lobby, similar to the automotive industry in Germany. As in Germany, structural change is slow, even if the solution seems obvious from the outside. Structurally, nature's contribution should be factored into our economic system and rewarded. Until that happens, deforestation will continue, even though nobody really wants it to.