Seeing and saving the forest for the trees

These in-their-own-words pieces are told to Patricia Lane and co-edited with input from the interviewee for the purpose of brevity. 

Emma Rae Lierley helps communities stop deforestation. As senior communications manager for the forests program at the Rainforest Action Network, this Vancouverite amplifies the voices of communities all over the world contending with corporations destroying their forest homes. 

Tell us about your work.

Massive corporate greed is driving the destruction of rainforests for products like palm oil, soy, beef, pulp and paper, viscose used in clothing, timber and cocoa — to make items that line our local store shelves and to line the pockets of Wall Street bankers.

Tropical rainforests teeming with life are burned, bulldozed and cleared to make room for monoculture crops. Brands we all recognize make products with a short life. But the damage to rainforests is long-lasting and far-reaching.

We help grassroots organizations in places like Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil identify and hold accountable banks and mega-corporations, like Proctor and Gamble, Unilever, Nestle, PepsiCo and others, that create the demand or finance the destruction. Our campaigns pressure corporations and hold them accountable for the impact of their supply chains. We bring members of affected communities into their boardrooms and use advanced technology when it is needed to illustrate our concerns.

Our efforts can take a long time, but we do succeed. For example, we recently provided some of these companies with high-resolution satellite images showing deforestation in an Indonesian protected area in the Leuser Rainforest. This area is the only remaining place on Earth where Sumatran orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants still coexist in the wild. Millions of people depend on it for their clean water, and it is the customary land of dozens of Indigenous communities. Supporting the human rights of Indigenous people is one of the very best ways to protect our planet. 

Palm oil grown from trees planted in this illegally deforested area risks entering the supply chains of these major companies and also flies in the face of their own “no deforestation” commitments. Some of these companies have immediately responded, cutting off their bad suppliers. Of course, we have to make sure they continue to remedy the destruction caused, and we’ll be there to hold them accountable.  

What makes your work hard?

We engage with some of the biggest companies in the world, but we are a small staff working with local people who often feel very vulnerable for good reason. Right-wing governments generally display less concern for conservation and human rights, which means more danger for land or forest defenders. We must wait until people are ready. Even then, our work takes time and so much destruction can happen during the wait. 

What keeps you awake at night?

We work across the globe, so we are aware of climate-change-impacted events in many different places. We live in an era of climate collapse. The heat domes and massive wildfires and floods and smoke are all happening now. It is hard to see decision-makers move so slowly or in the wrong direction. 

What gives you hope?

When communities succeed because they spoke out using both local and international people power, it is a great feeling. 

Everyone needs forests. Whether they are in your backyard or thousands of miles from you, they are cleaning the water and the air, and cooling our Earth. It matters to me that I get to play a part in protecting them. I have a toddler who is just starting to explore the world, and it's incredible to watch him discover all the beauty on this planet. I want to be able to tell him I helped leave it better than I found it. 

How did you get into this work?

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and spent entire summer days in the forests of Cascadia. These wild spaces are a part of me, and I want to protect what I love. I also love stories. My work allows me to combine those two passions as I help impacted communities tell their stories in ways that will inspire others, the corporations who can affect the supply chains and the donors and members of the public who will help make change. 

Is there anything you would like to say to other young people?

You don’t have to change jobs to make a difference. Wherever you find yourself, there is an opportunity to help. We need to build a future with a stable climate, justice and equity. We need everyone — artists, teachers, doctors, union workers. Figure out how you can bend whatever kind of work you do toward sustainability and justice, and do it!

What about older readers?

We need you. It is easy to justify inaction with stories like: “It's always been this way,” or “Nothing will change,” especially if you have been disappointed with inaction in the past. The great challenge is to use your wisdom, experience, time and money to work with us to build the future we need. What kind of ancestor will you be?