From a six passenger plane, I gazed over the rainforest canopy through white clouds and sunlight to see gray rain in the distance not far from where we would soon be landing.  My colleagues and I were speechless at this vision of an endangered landscape.

During the past 40 years, close to 20 percent of the Amazon rainforest has been cut down (National Geographic, 2007).  Without efforts to protect the rainforest, scientists suggest an additional third of Amazon ground cover could be lost by 2050 (Soares-Filho et al, 2006).  Our partner, Conservation International, and other environmental experts also say that the destruction of tropical forests contributes 20 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and fuels climate change.

Recently Marriott International partnered with the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation (Fundação Amazonas Sustentável – FAS) to launch the Spirit to Preserve the Rainforest program.  Conserving rainforests – the lungs of the Earth – is one of the most important things we can do to improve the climate.  Marriott has committed $2 million dollars to support the Juma Reserve, which lies several hundred miles outside of Manaus, one of Brazil’s largest cities and the capital of the state of Amazonas.  In addition to this support, Marriott has created the Spirit to Preserve Group Meetings Promotion which grants 5% of hotel room revenue from group bookings during specified periods to support the reserve and its residents. 

On March 24, 2009, I joined five other Sales Managers from around the country (Chrissy Bellah, Amy Barfknecht, Louis Gonzalez, Anuj Marwaha) to travel to the Juma Reserve.  The trip was the grand prize given to each of us by the company for our part in earning nearly $500,000 additional dollars for the Spirit to Preserve the Rainforest program.  We were so inspired by our journey that our sales group committed to raising another $1 million for the program.

After landing on a narrow strip of packed dirt hundreds of miles from Manaus, we jumped into a small boat and headed up the Rio Negro to the village of Boa Frente. There we met representatives from FAS, and were educated about the steps they are taking to preserve the rainforest.  We discovered that the contributors to deforestation sometimes even include the people who call the rainforest home.  Marriott and FAS’s partnership make it possible to enforce deforestation laws, spread awareness, and educate the community about how to maintain their precious natural resource.

The recently completed JW Marriott School in Boa Frente plays a large part in this collaboration.  FAS members and teachers from cities around Brazil will work to educate all ages, with topics ranging from reading and geography to crop rotation, carbon monitoring and the importance of rainforest preservation.  The eco-friendly design utilizes modern electronics and today’s green technology.  Solar panels provide energy to run lighting and computers in classrooms.  There are also teacher and visitor dormitories, and the health center. Plumbing is made possible by rainwater storage containers kept on the roof of the school. 

As the five of us boarded the small plane back to Manaus we talked about our experience. We felt humbled by our time in the rainforest.  Preserving and sustaining this area creates a measurably positive impact on the environment, and affects the quality of life for future generations around the world.  I hope that other individuals and companies are able to follow this example and recognize that they too have the power to change the future.   Marriott has even set up a way for individuals to get involved in preserving the rainforest.  When guests book a room on Marriott.com or visit Green-Brazilian Rainforest, they can offset the carbon generated during their stay for as little as US$10, or US$1/day for 10 days.