WARRENTON, VA – Rainforest Trust, a nonprofit conservation organization focused on saving threatened lands and endangered species, has launched a campaign in honor of International Polar Bear Day on February 27, 2015.

The campaign is designed to build public awareness of the links between rainforest destruction, climate change, and threats to polar bears. Rainforest destruction is a driving force behind climate change and accounts for as much as 25 percent of human caused carbon emissions – an amount greater than all emissions from trucks, cars, trains and planes combined.

Rainforest destruction is a major cause of climate change © Wakx

Ice loss is dramatically changing polar bear habitat © Marco Verch

Polar Bear populations are declining in part due to low cub survival rates © Tableatney

Higher temperatures in the Arctic, which are warming at twice the global rate, have contributed to massive ice loss. Polar bears, which depend on this ice for their survival, have suffered as a result and are now on the Endangered Species List.

The first thousand people to take the pledge, which asks signers to raise awareness for the threatened polar bear species by voicing their concerns via social media, will have an acre in the Peruvian Amazon saved in their honor. All participants will be entered in a drawing to win a Patagonia Synchilla Snap-T jacket.

The acres saved will be in Peru’s Sierra del Divisor rainforest. Rainforest Trust is working there with Peruvian partner CEDIA (Center for the Development of an Indigenous Amazon) to protect 6 million acres of pristine Amazon wilderness. This rainforest stores a billion tons of carbon – an amount equal to the average annual emissions of all the vehicles on the road in the United States – and provides habitat for countless plant and animal species. It also faces imminent threats from oil development, road and pipeline construction, and illegal logging.

“The link between rainforest and polar bear protection may not be immediately apparent but they are very real,” said Christine Hodgdon, International Conservation Manager at Rainforest Trust. “Our campaign is a great reminder of the interconnectedness of all life systems on our planet. This is a win-win situation: by saving rainforests and biodiversity in the tropics we are helping to protect a future for the world’s remaining polar bears. I hope you will join us as every acre saved makes a difference.”

To donate or learn more about this campaign, visit legacy.rainforesttrust.org/polarbearpledge.

About Rainforest Trust

Rainforest Trust is a nonprofit conservation organization focused on saving rainforest and endangered species in partnership with local conservation leaders and indigenous communities. Since its founding in 1988, Rainforest Trust has saved nearly 8 million acres of rainforest and other tropical habitats and has 85 projects across 22 countries.

Media contacts:

Marc Ford, Rainforest Trust
info@rainforesttrust.org
1-800-456-4930

Megan McMonagle
megan.mcmonagle@rfbinder.com
212-994-7612