Rainforest Foundation 10k London Fun Run

Want to enjoy a fun day out and make a difference at the same time? 16 September 2007 sees the 7th 10k fun run in aid of the Rainforest Foundation in London's Regents Park. So pop on your running shoes and help to reduce rainforest destruction ...by making some footprints that won't do any damage!

The Rainforest Foundation works to protect the world's rainforests by enabling people living in and around them to fulfil their rights to land, life and livelihood. Its work spans all major tropical rainforest regions, with projects in 18 countries.

- If deforestation continues, in 40 years time, the Amazon, like London, could be reduced to small patches of green space

- Deforestation is the second largest cause of climate change. The loss of natural forests contributes more to carbon emissions each year than the transport sector

- Rainforests act as giant reservoirs releasing water throughout the year as perennial streams and rivers that support the lives of billions of people

- Rainforests are the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, containing more species of plants and animals than all the earth's other ecosystems combined... 30-40 million

Time is running out. More than an acre a second of tropical rainforest disappears forever. To date The Rainforest Foundation has already protected over 115,000 square km of rainforest. The money raised from the 2007 will work to continue projects that aim to protect a further area of rainforest the size of UK, France and Ireland combined.

Help The Rainforest Foundation achieve this target by registering at www.runfortherainforest.org and put your print on saving the rainforests.

For more information on The Rainforest Foundation, go to
www.rainforestfoundationuk.org.

EDITORS NOTES:

How the money can help...

£10 provides sustainable livelihoods
Fifty million people live in the world's rainforests. Women play a crucial role in lifting forest communities out of the cycle of poverty. £10 pays for village children to be looked after in a crèche for a week as their mothers are trained in a skill, such as silk weaving, which will help provide a long-term source of income, and secure economic independence in an environmentally sustainable way.

£20 supports our "Protect an Acre" programme
We do not 'buy' forest land, but instead work to help local communities secure legal rights to the forest lands in which they have lived for hundreds or even thousands of years. Because these people depend on the rainforest for their livelihoods, they protect it best.

£80 buys vital mapping tools
GPS (Global Positioning System) tools are crucial for producing accurate maps that help indigenous communities gain recognition of their land rights. Geo-referenced maps are the essential first step towards protecting forests for future generations.
£180 obtains community legal documents
Many indigenous forest peoples in Central Africa, such as the Baka 'pygmies', do not have basic legal documents, such as a national identity card or birth certificate, which often means that officially they do not 'exist'. Without recognition, they cannot seek help from the authorities, in trying to stop illegal logging of their rainforest lands. £180 could help ten Baka people obtain these invaluable documents.

For more information, contact Nick Tuchband on 020 7485 0193 or email at email nickt@rainforestuk.com.