Welcome to the Rio Atlantic Forest Trust

We hear a lot about the plight of tropical rain forests but few people realise how precarious the Atlantic Coastal Rain Forest of Brazil is. Those that do understand know that action is imperative to keep what remains intact.

It is estimated that about 96% of this 3000 mile long coastal forest has been destroyed by man. The 4% remaining is in small fragments, often in mountainous areas which can't be used by farmers or reached by starving grazing animals. But these fragments are vital; firstly because they contain the diversity of living animals and plants which reflects what the original forest was like. And secondly because within these fragments lies the hopes for future forest spread.

The Riotrust, or RAFT for short, was set up as a charity in 1994 to support the conservation of two of these threatened original forest fragments in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. These forest fragments have been privately owned by David and Izabel Miller since 1974 and it is certain that if they had not been maintained and guarded by the Millers, these valuable tracts of forest would now be worthless pasture or a golf course! The Chairman of RAFT Trustees is Dr Richard Warren who has worked together with the Millers since the 1970s in their passionate resolve to keep this forest intact.

In the 1970s, preserving this forest was funded by the Millers' own business. During the 1980s, with Warren, they built up an ecotourism business aimed at orchid lovers and bird watchers. Many groups from every continent have now visited the reserve and all have left satisfied and with glowing reports both of the richness of the area and of the kindness and hospitality they experienced during their visits. Details of how you may visit the reserve appear on this website.

Many professional botanists and bird watchers have also spent time there. Staff from Kew Gardens, Wisley in the UK, Australian, South African, American and European botanical gardens have visited and marvelled at the richness of the flora. A major comprehensive study was carried out by the Rio de Janeiro Botanic Garden in the Rio dos Flores valley, which looked in detail at a 1 hectare of forest and identified over 300 species of tree. Three species of which were new to science.

During the 1980s and 1990s, Miller and Warren worked on their special interest and produced a book on the orchids which are found in the reserves and this was published in 1996. The superb photographs were taken by Izabel Miller. A Portuguese version of 4000 sold out quickly while the English version of 5000 has only a few copies left. Since then, the Millers and Warren have been working on a book about orchids which covers a much wider area: the entire Organ Mountain Range of Rio de Janeiro State. This should be available soon.

Your donation will help to keep these forest fragments intact, guarded and maintained. We have no administration costs which need to be paid as all our work is voluntary. All donations will go straight into the conservation effort.