The Rainforest Alliance launched the Eco-Index^® in 2001 to provide the conservation community with a quickly and easily accessible vehicle to share project data and reports, lessons learned, and best practices in a succinct and consistent format. To best serve our audience, the entire site is available in English and Spanish, and profiles of projects based in Brazil are in Portuguese. Go to the Project Search page to find project information that interests you.

Each profile posted on the Eco-Index is submitted and updated each year by project directors. Before any information is posted on the site, it is carefully edited and translated by our staff of conservation professionals to ensure that we are providing information that is as useful as possible.

During the Eco-Index's first two years, the project concentrated on initiatives based in Mexico and Central America. In January 2003, the site was expanded to include projects from South America and the Caribbean, making the Eco-Index the premier directory of conservation projects throughout the Neotropics.

In November of 2005, with the support of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service's Wildlife Without Borders - Latin America and the Caribbean Program, the Rainforest Alliance launched the Western Hemisphere Migratory Species Initiative (WHMSI) Pathway. In February of 2006, the Eco-Index of Sustainable Tourism was launched as a tool to help responsible travelers and tour agencies choose destinations that are not only beautiful, but also benefit the communities, flora and fauna they will be visiting. In 2007, we expanded again to include projects from the United States and Canada, making the Eco-Index a hemispheric initiative.

Since its launch in February 2001, the Eco-Index has added more than 1,250 profiles of projects conducted by more than 600 organizations, with an average of 20 added or updated each month. The site receives an average of 60,000 visits a month. Our aim is to maintain an up-to-date and permanent archive of conservation efforts in the Americas.

• Diane Jukofsky, Vice President of Communications, Marketing and Education, Rainforest Alliance
• Editorial Committee: Melissa Normann, Milagro Espinosa, Nuria Bolaños, Jessica Webb, Yessenia Soto and Adam Isaacs
• Web Programming Team: David Milner and Danielle Cranmer
• Translations: Lucinda Taft, Lisa Wirtanen, Leticia Saenz and David Dudenhoefer
• Web Site Design: Beth Lien and Stratton Cherouny

• Mario Boza, Leatherback Trust
• Avecita Chicchón, Wildlife Conservation Society
• Juan Bezaury Creel, The Nature Conservancy
• Meg Cushing, Tinker Foundation
• María José González, MAR Fund
• Daniel Katz, Rainforest Alliance
• Richard Margoluis, Foundations of Success
• Sylvia Marín, World Wildlife Fund
• Carlos Quintela, World Wildlife Fund
• Miguel Reynal, Fundación Ecos
• John Robinson, The Nature Conservancy
• Carlos Saavedra, Summit Foundation
• Roger Sayre, The Nature Conservancy
• Lauren Spurrier, World Wildlife Fund
• Peter Stangel, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
• Jorgen Thomsen, Conservation International

• Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund
• Spray Foundation
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service - Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act
• United States Fish and Wildlife Service - Wildlife Without Borders - Latin America and the Caribbean Program

© 2001 - Rainforest Alliance