Deforestation-free global value chains

Overview

Deforestation is a critical global challenge with serious environmental, social, and economic implications.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the world’s leading organization for assessing climate change. Their latest report found that the best way to mitigate the economic effects of climate change would be through conservation, improved management, and restoration of forests and other ecosystems.

A study published in the journal Science says that between 90% and 99% of all deforestation in the tropics is driven by agriculture. That’s much higher than the commonly cited figure of 80%, showing the extent of the challenge.

Therefore, finding ways to farm without cutting down forests is critical.

As governments and international organizations are increasingly developing new policies and frameworks to preserve the world’s forests, ITC has been exploring current and emerging policies, as well as private initiatives in key countries and regions.

Each country faces unique challenges and opportunities in tackling deforestation within their borders and in their international trade relations. ITC can provide the tools to adapt and take climate action via trade.

Understanding emerging regulations

Equipping East African small businesses in coffee, cocoa, and leather for compliance with the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR).

What are deforestation roundtables?

Public-private consultations around Deforestation-free Global Value Chains

EUDR Exposure Rates

Spotlight on the EUDR, showcasing trade flows and exposure rates.

Report on HVA wood exports

Rising timber demand in Europe unlocks opportunities for South-East Asian producers

Summary of the Deforestation-free Value Chains Roundtable 12th June 2024

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Resources

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Alavanyo, Ghana. Cocoa farmer John Narh works with the Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union Limited. By working with the Sankofa programme at ITC, Narh and other farmers have adopted climate-smart ways of growing their crops.

Photo by Nana Kofi Acquah for ITC

Ghanaian farmer swings her machete to clear area near cocoa trees

Beposo, Ghana. Cocoa farmer Dorcas Koomson also works with the Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union Limited. "Over the last four years, cocoa planting has become hard. The sun is burning too much and killing the plants," she said.

Photo by Nana Kofi Acquah for ITC

Ghanaian farmer stands in forest with machete

Alavanyo, Ghana. Cocoa farmer John Narh works holds a machete in the forest, where he tends his crops. Working with the Sankofa programme at ITC, he’s moved away from monoculture in favour of farming techniques that are more climate-smart.

Photo by Nana Kofi Acquah for ITC

Ghanaian woman stands in forest near cocoa trees

Beposo, Ghana. Cocoa farmer Dorcas Koomson also works with the Kuapa Kokoo Cooperative Cocoa Farmers and Marketing Union Limited. The Sankofa project at ITC helps the union’s members increase their incomes without harming the forests.

Photo by Nana Kofi Acquah for ITC

Background

Checklist on EUDR Tools

Key criteria to support informed decision making among EUDR tools and technological solutions.

Farming and forests

Many businesses encroach on forests as they grow. The world has to find ways to change that pattern.

In June 2024, the International Trade Centre (ITC) hosted a roundtable event at the World Trade Organization (WTO), focusing on deforestation-free global value chains. In the centre of the photo is Dorothy Tembo, ITC's Deputy Executive Director, with Mathieu Lamolle, ITC Senior Advisor, Sustainable Global Value Chains, and Hiddo Houben, Deputy Head of Permanent Mission of the European Union to the WTO to her left. H. E. Erwin Bollinger, Chair of the WTO Committee on Trade and Environment (CTE) to her right.

This event builds on an ongoing project led by ITC and funded by the European Commission, that aims to increase engagement of developing and emerging countries on the trade and environment nexus, and their active participation in the WTO Trade and Environment Committee (CTE).

"We must ensure the long-term protection of those livelihoods and enable economic growth, all while reducing forest loss drastically," said Dorothy Tembo.

Belinda Borck, Global Public Policy Coordinator, Tony’s Chocolonely, highlighted the crucial collaboration with farmers to ensure plannability and living income as an essential element for a sustainable business model in cocoa.

Bless Agume, in the white t-shirt, works with Ndugu Farmers in Uganda, a social enterprise that encourages sustainable farming.
"Farmers would support efforts to limit deforestation if interventions can in some way help solve some of their needs."

Currently, commodity prices do not cover production costs. That means broader economic reforms are needed, said Alex Assanvo, the Executive Secretary of the Initiative Cacao Côte d’Ivoire-Ghana (ICCIG). "History shows that commodity markets are prone to price falls as sudden as price rises – and sadly for farmers, falls are way longer than rises which is creating poverty."