Deforestation and forest degradation are leading causes of global warming. One of the main drivers of deforestation is the massive expansion of extensive slash-and-burn agriculture, fuelled by the pressure to increase agricultural exports as a main source of foreign exchange for many developing countries.
Take Ghana, for example: the cocoa industry in Ghana employs approximately 800,000 families and generates $2 billion in foreign exchange annually1. This has helped to drive the loss of an average of 135,000 hectares of forest per year2.
The Cocoa and Forest Knowledge Exchange Program is an effort by the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) to help the private sector reduce deforestation through activities and engagement in a specific supply chain.
The program is providing a space for dialogue and exchange between West African and Latin American cocoa-producing regions, bringing together stakeholders from the private and public sectors, intergovernmental organizations, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples. The program’s exchanges are being used to validate and improve a global guide for the implementation of sustainable cocoa agroforestry, which will be available in October 2021.
Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, the program was transformed into a 10-month virtual course, which included a series of films representing examples of good practices from Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire and the Dominican Republic. Virtual webinars started with a core group of 60 participants from six countries with a focus on alliance building and technical exchange.
In June 2021, the program was opened to a larger group. During the first session, a total of 111 participants discussed the international context for sustainable cocoa with a diverse group of panelists from chocolate and cocoa companies, European Union institutions, international organizations, national and regional cocoa bodies, and farmer cooperatives.
Finally, a knowledge platform has been established to stimulate the growth of a vibrant sustainable cocoa network and complement the webinars.
The Latin America region has a deep history of cacao cultivation, but currently only produces 18 percent of the world’s supply3 of cocoa. Agroforestry has been identified as a critical component in restoring forests and improving the sustainability of cocoa production in this part of the world. With the help of the Cocoa and Forest Knowledge Exchange Program and increasing investment, the region is experiencing growth in the production of cocoa and the surface area of forests, and advanced examples of the commercial viability of agroforestry products.