Miguel Eduardo Araujo, formerly El Salvador's secretary of the environment and now an author of the country's plan for sustainable development, argues that the republic still has an amazing array of wildlife in large part due to the extensive area in coffee. Workers must be paid according to the law, treated fairly and given environmental education and training. All solid, liquid and organic wastes must be properly managed. The standards cover every aspect of production that could affect the environment. Specially trained teams of biologists and agronomists inspect candidate farms and give producers the information they need to make the necessary changes.
Final certification is made by an independent committee, based on the inspection team's reports.
The Rainforest Alliance is an international nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of tropical forests for the benefit of the global community. Our mission is to develop and promote economically viable and socially desirable alternatives to the destruction of this endangered, biologically diverse natural resource. We pursue this mission through education, research in the social and natural sciences, and the establishment of cooperative partnerships with businesses, governments, and local peoples.