Chubb Charitable Foundation Commits $500,000 to Rainforest Trust
First grant project will expand protected area in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest
The Chubb Charitable Foundation today announced a $500,000 commitment to Rainforest Trust, a global conservation organization that purchases and protects the most threatened tropical forests, saving endangered wildlife and sequestering carbon through partnerships and community engagement.
The grant will support Rainforest Trust’s Conservation Action Fund, which focuses on urgent conservation initiatives to protect critical habitats that would otherwise be used for development, agriculture or natural resource extraction.
The Foundation’s first grant of $154,000 will support the expansion of the Papagaios de Altitude Reserve in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, one of the world’s most threatened biodiversity hotspots. Rainforest Trust, working with local partner Associação dos Amigos do Meio Ambiente, will purchase a 220-acre property in Santa Catarina and register the land as a protected natural area. Doing so will safeguard one of the most significant remaining Araucaria forests in Brazil, secure the ecological requirements for wildlife and preserve an important watershed. The property stores 17,482 metric tons of carbon, equal to 43 million miles driven by an average passenger vehicle.
Header Photo: The Critically Endangered Parana Pine (Araucaria). Photo by Mauro Halpern.
The Endangered Crowned Solitary Eagle. Photo by Shutterstock.
“Rainforests are one of Earth’s most critical natural resources, not only for the diversity of life they support but because they provide valuable services to people and communities, such as erosion prevention and flood control. Protecting rainforests is also one of the most effective ways to prevent the release of carbon that causes climate change,” said Lori Dunstan, Vice President, Global Corporate Giving at Chubb. “Chubb is pleased to support Rainforest Trust. Their mission is aligned with Chubb’s commitment to strengthen the resilience of communities and protect biodiversity against the effects of climate change.”
Chubb, its employees and its charitable foundation continue to demonstrate their support for a wide range of environmental philanthropies and volunteer activities in local communities around the world. Chubb Charitable Foundation grants have helped preserve sensitive lands and habitats, finance green business entrepreneurs, and support educational programs that promote a healthy and sustainable environment, both domestically and globally.
