Broadening the perspective of zero-deforestation interventions in Peru by incorporating concepts from the global value chain literature

Global narratives around the links between deforestation and agricultural commodity production have led to the application of voluntary zero-deforestation agreements between companies, governments, and civil society. The continued tropical deforestation warrants a re-examination of this approach in order to customize its application for a particular location. Our paper contributes to this by exploring the spatial associations between deforestation and the production of cacao, coffee, and oil palm in the Amazon region in Peru. The geographical overlaps between deforestation, and the distribution of these commodity crops, indicate four types of spatial associations: (1) a high degree of deforestation and a high degree of commodity production (high-high); (2) a high degree of deforestation and a low degree of commodity production (high-low); (3) a low degree of deforestation and a high degree of commodity production (low-high); and (4) a low degree of deforestation and a low degree of commodity production (low-low). On the basis of these associations, we present four scenarios in which zero-deforestation supply chain interventions may operate in Peru and argue that broadening the perspective of such interventions by adopting a global value chain lens can improve the use of previously deforested lands, prevent unintended or future deforestation and, in turn, ensure that no forest area is left behind

“Rambo root” to the rescue: How a simple, low‐cost solution can lead to multiple sustainable development gains

Rugged and resilient, cassava is a bulky root crop that can thrive on poor soils. Cultivating it offers the potential to restore degraded land, which in turn may reduce hunger, generate livelihoods, fight climate change and even promote peace. As such, farming cassava offers a nature‐based solution that can contribute to achieving numerous sustainable development targets. The authors acknowledge that scaling up production of any commodity may bring risks of deforestation and biodiversity loss through clearing forest areas. In the case of increasing cassava production, though, this may not be the case because cassava can be cultivated on land affected by degradation, and this resource is abundant; policies and initiatives exist to mitigate those risks; and the principal goal is to scale up a sustainable land use system

Toward zero-deforestation value chains: Environmental upgrading and downgrading among non-certified cocoa producers in Colombia

Global pressure to make value chains less damaging to the natural environment, a process known as environment upgrading, has been building in recent years. Most studies that assess environmental upgrading have focused on the compliance of suppliers, which would be farmers in the case of value chains involving agrifood commodities, to sustainability certification standards. Our case study focusing on cocoa producers in Colombia explores an under-investigated topic in environmental upgrading — that of whether sustainable practices of non-certified farmers facilitate zero-deforestation value chains. Using data from 930 randomly sampled households in the Colombian departments of Caqueta and Cesar, we examined the association of non-certified sustainable practices, i.e., processes that benefit the environment which farmers undertake on their own and not because of adherence to sustainability certification criteria, with reforestation and deforestation: A positive association of the practices with the former suggests environmental upgrading, while with the latter would be environmental downgrading, which denotes negative environmental outcomes from the process of environmental upgrading. We also assessed whether or not there are significant differences between mean deforestation and reforestation rates between certified and non-certified cocoa producers in both departments. Based on statistical tests, we found that (a) non-certified sustainable practices can facilitate environmental upgrading and discourage environmental downgrading but only in some cases, and (b) there is no significant difference in mean deforestation rates between certified and non-certified surveyed cocoa producers, but there is a significant difference in mean reforestation rates between the two groups of producers. These results suggest that implementing non-certified sustainable practices poses another way to enable value chain actors to meet the requirements in markets seeking sustainably produced commodities. One such market is that of the European Union, whose legislation on deforestation-free commodities makes certification an optional rather than compulsory process to support the prescribed procedure on diligence procedure

Mitigate+ at COP 27: Let’s talk about low-emission food systems!

At the Food and Agriculture Pavilion at COP 27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Mitigate+ held a session that explored the potential for integrating food system approaches into those strategies, known as LT-LECRDS for short. Per Article 4 of the Paris Agreement, "all Parties should strive to formulate and communicate long-term low greenhouse gas emission development strategies, mindful of Article 2 taking into account their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances.