Turning the Tide

Cool Earth's approach is simple: the people who live in the rainforest are the ones best placed to protect it. So instead of top-down conservation, they back local communities with funding, tools, and decision-making power to do things their own way.

Right now, one of the biggest threats they’re tackling is wildfires.

The climate crisis is making fires more extreme and unpredictable, putting Indigenous communities and their rainforest homes at serious risk. In places like Peru’s Ene River basin, huge areas of forest have already been lost - along with crops, homes, and vital ecosystems.

But fire itself isn’t new. In many communities, it’s part of everyday life - used carefully for farming, warmth, and light. The problem is the climate has changed, and safe conditions can no longer be relied on.

That’s where Cool Earth’s work comes in.

Through local-led fire prevention programmes like the PAAMARI project, they support 45 Indigenous Asháninka communities with training, equipment, and real-time forest data to stop wildfires before they start.

PAAMARI brings together ancestral knowledge and modern tools—like satellite alerts and weather monitoring - to help communities respond quickly and safely. It includes:

• Fire prevention and safer burning training
• Community fire brigades
• Satellite hotspot alerts and weather risk updates
• Long-term support for Indigenous-led forest protection

The impact is huge - helping protect over 240,000 hectares of rainforest.

And right now, there’s another reason to support them.

This Earth Day, donations made to Cool Earth via The Big Give  are being doubled - meaning every contribution goes twice as far, helping more people and protecting more rainforest.