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  Protect-an-acre vs. Buy-an-acre

  I highly recommend the Rainforest Action Network's Protect-an-Acre program.  It's likely the one mentioned in this answer as a small grant program to indigenous communities.  There are several reasons I think this  option is a better choice than traditional buy-an-acre programs.
  You receive a certificate to give as a gift with a description of the project you've funded.  You can see previous and ongoing projects at http://ran.org/campaigns/protect_an_acre/
  Supporting indigenous communities is the best way to protect the forests.
  

  1. Indigenous communities have been stewards of the land for generation and their livelihood depends on the ability of the forest to thrive.  A recent study by Forest Trends found that traditional communities on site do a better job of conserving woodlands than governments or international donors.
     
  2. Recognizing the interconnection of domination of land and domination of people is the first step towards an ethic of conservation that preserves culture and nature.  Also, it covers gifts for greeny friends and those more into human rights issues and provides heartwarming stories for the Christmas season in addition to a few acres of forest.
     
  3. It's difficult for well meaning organizations to ensure that uninhabited forest lands remain protected without constant monitoring and upkeep.  It's not uncommon for loggers, oil and gas companies, cattle ranchers and miners to illegally extract resources from "protected" lands.
     
  4. Indigenous communities have few allies in staging resistance to hostile or even illegal land seizures to feed the growing agribusiness and fuel economies and this program helps provide tactics for retaining or regaining a self-determination that is self sustaining. When communities loose land rights they almost never regain them and are often forced into abject urban poverty or wage slavery on the plantations that replace their homes.

  Finally, we give environmental gifts because of an ecological ethic that we cultivate in our lives and wish to share with friends and family. Traditional programs allow you to support an organization doing good work in the world and remove some acres of forest from the open market.   RAN's Protect an Acre does all that and sustains communities half way around the world that live the ecological effort we profess. The world has a lot to learn from the traditional lifestyles of those who inhabit and rely upon the forest and sustaining those societies for even a single generation longer gives us the opportunity to witness the way young indigenous population will face and defeat encroaching challenges.
  On Umbra on rainforest-protection gifts posted 11 months, 3 weeks ago 6 Responses