Many NGOs act as pressure groups, researching for new information and lobbying the public and government for higher environmental standards and a more discerning approach to the exploitation of nature and natural resources. Other NGOs raise funds to put important projects into the field in rain forest countries. Often these are very specific, perhaps to protect a particular piece of forest or reserve, or to survey the status of threatened animals and plants.

In coming decades, the role of NGOs will be more and more crucial to the success of conservation and development projects. Governments and development banks increasingly need field intelligence to make sure that money is being well spent on the ground. Only when projects meet the needs of local people will the result be sustained in the long term.

Over the past decade, the world has seen NGOs spring out of nowhere to reach out to millions through the world's media. In some cases, massive development programs have been halted in their tracks. In the 19992 and beyond, both NGOs and governments must work together, building in understanding from the early planning stages. In this way, development money will be better spent, people in developing nations will be better served, and the rain forests will be better protected.

 Below are a few examples of NGOs that help protect tropical rain forests:

Wildlife Conservation International (WCI), a division of the New York Zoological Society, has projects throughout the tropics. Particularly noteworthy is a survey of the forest elephants of west-central Africa, where populations are estimated to be declining. Similar work in Borneo has drawn attention to the declining range of the endemic arboreal proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus).

The Fauna and Flora Preservation Society (FFPS) is one of the oldest NGOs. Founded at the turn of the century, and based in the United Kingdom, it has an excellent track record in  achieving conservation in the field. A long-standing commitment to gorilla conservation in Rwanda includes fundamental education work, as well as the maintenance of protected areas.

The Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), is a nonprofit consortium that includes more than 50 universities and research institutions in the United States and Latin America.  OTS conducts graduate, undergraduate, and professional education, facilitates research, actively participates in rain forest conservation, maintains three biological stations in Costa Rica, and conducts innovative environmental education programs.  Most OTS conservation activities are centered around the three biological stations in Costa Rica and surrounding protected areas.  For more information visit http://www.ots.duke.edu/

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has offices throughout the USA, where it has massive land management responsibilities and environmental databases. Over the past decade, TNC has assisted local NGOs throughout Latin America in setting up national data centers and strengthening national conservation programs.

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is the best-known international conservation NGO. Over the past three decades, WWF has spent over US $100 million on more than 4,000 projects in 130 countries. Most of these projects have had national counterparts in the target country. WWF's work ranges from surveys to identify key areas to species protection, protected area establishment and management for conservation. Education of young people and training of personnel in nature conservation departments have also been high priorities.

Since its inception, protection of tropical rain forests have been a high priority. Current work continues in key rain forest areas such as Manu in Peru, which contains 10% of the world's bird species, and Korup in Cameroon, a rich forest area that survived the shrinking of the rain forests in the last Ice Age. WWWF also helps to prepare conservation strategies and has supported pioneering work on the impact of logging on wildlife.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is unique in being both a non-governmental and an inter-governmental organization. A union of governments and NGOs in 120 countries, its task is to promote conservation by building consensus of thought and action around the world. IUCN has a Tropical Forest Programme, supported by Sweden that concentrates on strategic planning of conservation, involving projects that show how strategies can be turned into reality.