Specialists in tropical rain forest conservation have recently begun to suggest that forests facing imminent destruction in deforestation ‘hot spots’ can not be saved, and that conservation organizations would use their resources more effectively if they focused on preserving ‘cold spots’, remote places with intact rain forests. The advocates of the cold spot strategy contend that sustainable development efforts in deforestation ‘hot spots’ are ineffective. A case study of sustainable development in a rapidly deforesting region of coastal Ecuador questions this contention. Sustainable development in this region takes two organizational forms, one focused on the adoption of sustainable forestry techniques in a small set of villages and the other centered around the creation of a civic arena for discussing and resolving regional sustainable development issues. This two-pronged effort has achieved some success and may provide a model for sustainable development in places experiencing rapid tropical deforestation.