Tropical rainforests cover 7% of the planet but contain 50% of the world's biodiversity. Their ecosystems regulate global water systems and climate, and directly support the livelihoods of more than a billion people. The social and economic benefits of these services are estimated at several trillion. These aspects are known for decades; The Kyoto Protocol already implemented in 1992 the objective of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) to combat global warming by reducing the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to " a level that would prevent any dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” (Art. 2), nevertheless, 30 years later, we are still losing on average 7 million hectares of tropical forest per year. This reflects the extreme difficulties in aligning NGOs, the private sector, governments, and the population representing the bottom of the pyramid who have priorities other than biodiversity conservation and climate change, under the same objectives.

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I had the privilege of working over the past 25 years with inspiring companies that have had the courage to take on this challenge by implementing sustainable forest management models in the rainforest to secure their multiple functions for the future generations. These models have provided evidence that deforestation is not inevitable, and that sustainable management and the study of these forests can even be at the origin of virtuous economic models for the populations IF their efforts are recognized at a fair value for their contribution to conservation.

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Through the COMMUNITIES FOREST FACT initiative, the objective is to build on these experiences to reproduce these conservation models at the level of forest communities and continue to develop products and services that will allow them to have a fairer return for their contribution to the conservation.

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I extend my thanks to the organizations of the public and private sectors who already support this initiative as well as to the NGOs who allow us to move forward in a framework that does not sacrifice environmental and social performance to economic interests alone. At all levels we can be an actor of this change so please contact and make also your own pact for the conservation of forests.

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