Why save forests? It may seem an obvious question, but Alison Clausen, a world expert in the field, would think it an excellent question. Alison is the country director of the WIldlife Conservation Society’s Madagascar Program Makira Rainforest Park one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth. Her expertise and her passion are impressive indeed.

While Alison is busy on this project in Madagascar, perhaps we can address the question with you.

Why save this forest? The Makira rainforest not only provides a habitat for diverse species, but is a remarkable ecosystem vital to our global environment. We all need the forests! Forests help regulate our climate. With your help, this project empowers local communities and the private sector to actively sustain this natural resource. Those who rely on the forest are those best able to save it.

Okay, but how to do that? This project works with local communities to develop sustainable agriculture, providing much-needed employment and income. The local people are rising out of poverty with these new opportunities, and because of that, they are eliminating old practices detrimental to the rainforest, voluntarily and enthusiastically.

The private sector, too? Those sustainable products—vanilla, clove, cocoa, etc.—are sold to local and international markets, and so, suddenly, the private sector also has a keen interest in promoting the sustainable practices that produced them. When interests align among conservationists, local communities, and the private sector, sustainability gains real and practical momentum.

Benefits to Earth’s climate? Carbon emissions from deforestation exceed those of the entire global transport sector. The success in Madagascar means that this project is expected to average carbon emission offsets of over 1 million tonnes every year. That’s progress!