About    - History    - Leadership    - Board of Directors  RIL    - TFF Standard for      Reduced Impact      Logging    - Cost/Benefits Study    - South America    - Asia    - Africa  Mahogany  Contributors    - Corporate Sponsors    - Partners  Support TFF    - Contributor's App.  TFF Newsletters  TFF Species Bulletins  Press Releases/News/   Documents of Interest  CITES  Tomorrow's Forests  Industry Can Help  Consider This  Links  Contact		Since its formation in 1990, TFF has worked to create a dialogue between people in the tropical hardwoods industry and those involved in environmental and conservation efforts. Our goal: Conserve and maintain our world's tropical forest resources. In this respect, education has been a powerful ally. Education that comes by way of the Sustainable Forest Management workshops we hold for designers and architects, or on a larger scale, the Reduced-Impact Logging (RIL) models and training schools we have established in Brazil, are underway in Indonesia, and are planned for Africa. With these and other tools, we've been able to demonstrate to members of industry - both economically and environmentally - the effectiveness of alternative means of tropical forest management. TFF has engaged the recognition and support of most major international funding organizations to encourage TFF conservation practices. But our efforts here require more than enthusiastic teachers. They demand the commitment of human and financial resources.   Today's Challenge. Plenty of work lies ahead of us. For all that we've done, deforestation and its devastating repercussions still pose a very real threat. In fact, recent studies have shown that tropical forests are still disappearing at an alarming rate. And with every square mile we're losing more than forests. These environments are home to a wealth of plant and animal life that scientists and biologists have only begun to catalog. Tropical forests are a key part of the world's environmental fabric. We're only beginning to understand the role these forests play in our planet's global health. Many studies have found a compelling link between rainforest destruction and global warming. The world needs the resources of the rainforests for timber and uncountable other products. But we have to harvest them in a gentler way to satisfy human needs and save the forests --- forever. It can be done --- if we all pull together.