How Our Reforestation Program Began

• In 1989, Rios purchased 90 acres along the Pacuare River near a small subsistence farming community. Rios bought the land from local community member Anibal Obando, whose large family had cut down significant tracts of rainforest to create farmland. We then hired the same Obando family to reforest most of this area, in alignment with our mission to collaborate with local community and to educate them, not just our guests, about the importance of environmental protection and reforestation.


• n 1989 we planted over five hundred trees as part of our reforestation program. We used all local species of seeds that had been previously collected on the same land by the Obando family. Our reforestation efforts have continued since 1989 with land purchases using company earnings.

2000 Acres Protected and Over 8,000 Trees Planted To Date

• Today we have almost 2,000 acres in our private reserve (home of our Rainforest Lodge as well) and reforestation project.


• We are proud participants in the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) worldwide tree planting campaign: Under the Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign.


• In this campaign, people, communities, business and industry, civil society organizations and governments from all countries are encouraged to enter tree planting pledges online with the objective of planting at least one billion trees worldwide each year. UNEP


• Our original goal was 5,000 trees in 2008; we surpassed that in May 2008 and upped our goal to 10,000 that summer. We reached 8,000 trees planted by late 2008 and have increased our goal for the third time to 15,000 trees for the Planet.


• We teach our guests that they are actually in the “lungs of the world”. We encourage them to actively participate in making a difference by planting trees, and they can see the rainforest improvements that have been accomplished by previous guests.


• Our local communities understand that a sustainable tourism economic model produces a better quality of living.