BWI launches global campaign to protect rainforests and workers' rights

The Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI) has launched a comprehensive initiative to address the urgent issue of rainforest destruction and worker exploitation. The campaign, titled "Rainforests Thrive with Their People: Stop Exploitation Now!", was unveiled at the BWI Global Climate Justice Summit in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 7, 2024.


A United Front for Rainforest Protection


The BWI has formed a Trade Union Rainforest Alliance, uniting members from Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Suriname, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Gabon, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Australia, India, and Cambodia. This global alliance aims to:


  • Share experiences and knowledge among rainforest workers.
  • Collaborate to safeguard forests and biodiversity.
  • Advocate for decent work and fair labor practices.

Key Demands of the Campaign


The campaign is centered around three core demands:


  1. Promote Decent Work: BWI calls for implementing a Decent Work Agenda in the forestry sector, ensuring safe working conditions, fair wages, and social protection for the estimated 33 million forest workers worldwide.
  2. Preserve Communities: The campaign emphasizes the vital role of rainforest communities, particularly Indigenous Peoples, in conservation efforts. BWI advocates for increased protections for these communities and their traditional knowledge.
  3. Protect the Environment: The campaign demands sustainable forest management practices, including reforestation, rehabilitation of degraded lands, and halting deforestation, aligned with the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

A Call for Action


BWI is urging governments, businesses, and civil society to take immediate action to address the interconnected crises of climate change and labour exploitation. The campaign will culminate at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025, where BWI aims to ensure that the demands of rainforest workers are incorporated into the global climate agenda.


The launch was attended by Mrs. Maíra Lacerda e Silva, Head of the Special Advisory Office for International Affairs at the Brazilian Ministry of Labour and Employment, who declared, "The Brazilian government believes it is essential that employers and workers participate in COPs and all debates on just transition. We hope that the unions will be there. And as far as President Lula's government is concerned, workers will always have a voice and participate."


Mr. Denilson Pestana, BWI Vice-President for Latin America and the Caribbean, declared, "There is no environmental justice without workers' rights. Exploitation, in any form, can never be 'sustainable'. Without protecting rainforests and its peoples, we cannot have climate justice."


"The Alliance of Forests pact by the governments of Brazil, Indonesia, and Congo in 2022 is a clear call for action. We, unions, are ready to turn the calls into real action globally and on the ground. Sustainable forest management with workers and unions central to the decision-making process, can enhance livelihoods, contribute to landscapes and cities, and reduce the world’s carbon footprint,” said Rulita Wijayaningdyah from KAHUTINDO, Indonesia.