OroVerde

Since its foundation in 1989, OroVerde (GreenGold) has been committed to the conservation of the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth: tropical forests. In a world facing the rapid acceleration of the climate crisis and the critical loss of biodiversity, this mission is of global importance.

About our NGO

Founded in 1989
Executive Director: Martina Schaub
Employees: 46
Nine-member foundation board for supervision and strategic guidelines
Headquarters: Bonn, Germany
Projects in: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Germany, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela

The OroVerde team in Bonn — Our experienced and creative team in our headquarters in Bonn, Germany, works closely with our partners around the globe.

We are convinced that a sustainable protection of tropical forests can only be achieved in close cooperation with the communities inhabiting the areas where those forests grow. Their ancestral knowledge about living with and from the forest is just as crucial as scientific research on the impacts of climate change.

Listening to indigenous communities and including them in the conservation measures is an essential part of our approach to forest protection. This also ensures that the strategies we implement together with our local partners are tailored to the individual conditions of each country and region.

At the same time, raising awareness in the Global North is also extremely important. The global economic and legal frameworks are impacting forests, biodiversity, climate and in the long run also our own livelihoods. But also our consumer choices are affecting forests and our climate – oftentimes without the consumer realising. This is why it is now more important than ever to inform people about the direct relation between consuming certain products and the climate crisis.

In many of our projects, Ecosystem-based Adaptations (EbA) have proven to be a successful and efficient strategy to meet specific local needs. For instance, agroforestry systems and other forest-friendly farming methods are vital for many communities so that people can live in harmony with the forest while also generating new sources of income.

Our work is based on three main pillars:

Boy runs with his kite ©A. Hömberg — Human livelihoods and forest conservation are interlinked.

OroVerde recognises the interrelation of development cooperation and nature conservation, OroVerde focuses on conserving tropical forests as well as human livelihoods that depend on these ecosystems.

Agroforestry is a sustainable agricultural method ©S. Schäfer — Agroforestry, like here in Panama, is a productive and sustainable agricultural methode.

Education in sustainable development and raising gerneral awareness about tropical rainforest and the consequences their destruction are important steps to work towards a more sustainable future as a global society. Real change can only happen if everybody recognises their power and responsibility as a consumer and world citizen.

OroVerde stands up for forest protection at a Friday's for Future Demonstration 2023 ©H. Dudai — OroVerde stands up for forest protection at a Friday's for Future Demonstration 2023.

OroVerde also operates on a political level: We closely monitor and evaluate the development of relevant legal frameworks with a particular focus on forest and biodiversity conservation. For instance, we follow the developments of the EU-Mercosur agreement, which is currently being debated.

Our board members provide supervision and guidance ©Matzke — For supervision and strategic guidance we count on our board members, who contribute different perspectives from a great variety of professional backgrounds.

Another conclusion we have drawn from our years of experience in the field is the need to expand our political and advocacy work. Frequently, local communities are fully aware of how much they depend on a healthy environment and make every effort to preserve it, but the protection of tropical forests still fails due to lack of political will or ill-advised decisions on the national and international level.

At OroVerde we recognise that we can only be successful in protecting our environment and ultimately our own livelihoods if politics, civil society and people living in the affected areas work closely together. Basing our work on the three pillars mentioned above ensures an inclusive, multi-perspective and sustainable approach to tropical forest conservation.

We are looking for solutions to complex problems. Sometimes these solutions need to be equally complex, but sometimes they turn out to be surprisingly simple! On this English version of our website you can find a small selections of our project and get an idea of how we at OroVerde work to build a sustainable future in close cooperation with our international partners.

Our vision are healthy tropical forests – worldwide.