Installing a tracking device in a tree in a rainforest

Rainforest Connection

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Model & Strategy

Rainforest Connection (RFCx) is focused on preventing rainforest deforestation, a leading cause of climate change and species extinction, by providing real-time monitoring and detection of illegal logging activity. RFCx transforms recycled cell-phones into autonomous, solar-powered listening devices that can remotely monitor and detect logging activity. Using this data, RFCx partners with local NGOs and indigenous tribes to deter incursions through more effective patrols or to pressure governments to take action to prevent further incursions. RFCx plans to make this data available to academic researches and government agencies in the hopes of reshaping the fields of field ecology and conservation.

Rainforest Connection logo
At a Glance
Founded: 2015
By: Topher White
Environment & Climate Change
Location of work: International, Asia, Latin America
https://rfcx.org/
Rainforest Connection
77 Van Ness Ave
Suite 101-1717
San Francisco, CA 94102
A solution that can halt illegal logging in rainforests
Man sitting on bulldozer in a rainforest
Topher White of Rainforest Connection
Meet Topher White

Topher White is Founder and CEO of Rainforest Connection. Topher has experience building systems for large and small startups as well as international science projects, including four years working on nuclear fusion at ITER, in France. He has received multiple accolades for his work, including being named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2015 and an “Engineering Hero” by the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

RFCx directly aids the efforts of local in-country partner organizations, NGOs, indigenous tribes and governments struggling to reduce environmental destruction. RFCx can already claim to be a key element in the protection of thousands of hectares of forest in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Since 2015, RFCx has developed and deployed specialized conservation technology to empower the Brazilian Tembé indigenous people to protect 60,000 hectares of their native rainforest in Brazil, using real-time data and alerts.

In many cases, RFCx takes responsibility for improving local infrastructure in the forest, offering myriad benefits for partners and their communities, including improved cell networks, internet access, solar power stations, and more.

RFCx also uses data streaming from remote forests combined with advanced acoustic algorithm development to measure biodiversity and ecology, creating new and simplified interfaces for scientists to contribute to environmental protection while furthering their own research.

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