{"id":25293,"date":"2023-12-28T09:29:08","date_gmt":"2023-12-28T09:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gaialab.org\/?page_id=25293"},"modified":"2024-03-28T17:14:48","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T17:14:48","slug":"international-meeting-on-deforestation","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.gaialab.org\/en\/events\/international-meeting-on-deforestation\/","title":{"rendered":"International meeting on deforestation"},"content":{"rendered":"
London 10 June 2023<\/div>International meeting on deforestation<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>
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\u201cTo date, our supermarket shelves have too often been filled with products covered in the ashes of burned rainforests and irreversibly destroyed ecosystems, resulting in the destruction of indigenous peoples' livelihoods. Too often, this has happened without consumers\u2019 awareness<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>
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More than 250 representatives of producing countries and consuming products linked to deforestation, including NGOs and indigenous populations, gathered in London to discuss how to reduce deforestation linked to palm oil, soya, meat and coffee supply chains, cocoa and rubber.<\/h5>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>

The opportunity was offered by the implementation of the new European Regulation on deforestation, approved by the European Parliament. According to the new law, companies will be able to sell in the EU market only products whose supplier has issued a due diligence declaration certifying that the product does not come from deforested land and has not contributed to forest degradation, after 31 December 2020.<\/p>\n

Due diligence involves geolocalization of production areas, a risk study and its mitigation. If the risk is not negligible, the products cannot be sold in Europe. It seems easy but it is actually very complex to implement.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

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What challenges await the European Regulation on Deforestation?<\/span>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>
I joined technical tables on cocoa and coffee, palm oil and leather that will be subject to deforestation risk assessment.<\/h5>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>

After two days of intense work and dialogue on the challenges that the application of the European regulation poses, some possible solutions emerged.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Traceability<\/span>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>
How to track production, often fragmented into small productions, far from collection and consumption centers?<\/h5>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]

Among the options, it gained consensus the use of a QR Code that identifies the perimeter of the cultivation area and changes in land use.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

If this can be an excellent tool for soya production, as in Brazil, and palm oil, in Indonesia, concentrated in large plots, it is much more complex for productions such as coffee in Papua New Guinea and cocoa in Ghana, fragmented among several small farmers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

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Data quality and ownership<\/span>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>
The origin and quality of the data, its accuracy, its access and ownership, costs, will be crucial elements in the implementation.<\/h5>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>

There was shared agreement that growers and farmers are the owners of data, as a fundamental element of economic and social equity.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

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Costs<\/span>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>
It is not yet clear how the costs of the new regulation will be distributed, but there was shared agreement that they should not fall on the farming communities.<\/h5>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Specific incentives could be provided to support traceable and transparent supply chains. International finance through green bonds, donors, national incentives can be among the mechanisms to be adopted to finance the costs of implementation, especially in producing countries and traceable supply chains.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

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Role of women<\/span>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>
During the plenaries and thematic discussions, I listened to and met influential, charismatic and highly committed women who will play a key role on various fronts.<\/h5>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Among these, Robie Halip<\/strong>, representative for the human rights of the Philippine indigenous populations, Kathy Ortiz<\/strong> of the Ecuadorian association Pro Amazon\u00eca which works with forest farmers: women will have a key role in the implementation of the Regulation.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

Inclusion of small farmers<\/span>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>
Tackling deforestation also represents a unique opportunity to share the benefits with agricultural communities and small farmers.<\/h5>[vc_empty_space height=”10px”]<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Reducing deforestation together with a reduction in forest degradation and greater transparency on prices paid to small farmers will also guarantee better living conditions for native populations who traditionally depend on the forest.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

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