Cocoa and the Risk of Deforestation in the Congo Basin

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Cocoa farming plays an important role in the economies of tropical countries that produce these beans, supplying essential value chains that connect agricultural areas and tropical forests to the world's large chocolate consumption areas, and thus supporting a global agro-industry. Like other tropical agricultural value chains that are found in various international markets, cocoa farming contributes to deforestation and is therefore seen as a sector that could be targeted by measures to control emissions linked to the destruction of forests.

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A recent measure by the European Union aims to prevent cocoa entering the European market from coming from land that has been deforested in the countries of origin. This measure requires ensuring that the plots that produced the beans exported to Europe have not been cleared after December 31, 2020. However, it is clear that cocoa farming is not just about the cultivated plot, but is part of a broader ecosystem, integrating the socio-economic dimensions of the farmers. The question that arises is: how to manage the farmers' environment in order to reduce their responsibility in the destruction of the ecosystem? The objective of this side event is to share some preliminary thoughts from recent and/or ongoing work on the risks that cocoa farming could pose to the destruction of the Congo Basin forests. How can we avoid the trajectories observed in West Africa, where cocoa farming has contributed significantly to the degradation of forest cover, and where current efforts are aimed at restoring these forest resources?

Program

• Introduction. Denis Sonwa, World Resources Institute, Africa
• The trajectory of cocoa cultivation in Tshopo, Democratic Republic of Congo and deforestation risks. Germain Batsi, University of Kisangani, Democratic Republic of Congo and University of Mzuzu, Malawi.
• Deforestation risks linked to cocoa cultivation in the TRIDOM landscape of Cameroon, Republic of congo and Gabon. Dr Jonas Ngouhouo-Poufoun, University of London, United Kingdom.
• Does cocoa cultivation contribute to deforestation in Cameroon? - Pr Verina Ingram, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
• The realities of certification for deforestation-free cocoa cultivation in the Congo Basin. Dr Dieu Ne Dort Wandji, Rainforest Alliance, Cameroon
• Questions and answers
• Conclusion - Denis Sonwa

Useful Links

• New cocoa risk map on GFW Pro — Global Forest Watch Pro
• Mapping Cocoa and Assessing Deforestation Risk for the Cocoa Sector in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana — World Resources Institute
• The Hidden Benefits of Cacao Waste — World Resources Institute
• Pour la durabilité de la production du cacao, les pays et les sociétés doivent s’engager — World Resources Institute
• Cargill and WRI Map Out a Global Cocoa Footprint — Triple Pundit
• Cocoa, livelihoods, and deforestation within the Tridom landscape in the Congo Basin: A spatial analysis — CIFOR-ICRAF
• Trajectories of Cocoa Production in Tshopo Province — J-STAGE

_{Image by Molly Bergen/WCS, WWF, WRI/Flickr}