Michael Thirnbeck Consensus that commodity agriculture is major driver of tropical deforestation Shift from state-initiated to enterprise-driven deforestation (Rudel 2005, 2007) Commercial agriculture largest driver of tropical deforestation (Geist & Lambin 2002; Morton et al. 2006; Macedo et al. 2012) Tropical forests were the primary sources of new agricultural land in the 1980s and 1990s (Gibbs et al. 2010) Export markets increasingly important
Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives Industry response to reputational risk, joining with NGOs, involves entire supply chain Roundtables: Palm oil (RSPO), soya (RTRS), biofuels (RSB) Proto-roundtables, Brazilian Sustainable Cattle Working Group Moratoria: Soya (2006), Cattle (2009)
Multi-Stakeholder Commodity Roundtables Include producers, traders, retailers and civil society Agree voluntary production standards that improve environmental and social impacts.
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Established 2004 (preparatory meetings 2002), Principles & Criteria October 2007, certification began 2008 Membership >60% growers and traders, manufacturers and retailers >30%, civil society ~5% Cut-off date November 2005- no HCV can be cleared 11% global palm oil certified Eric Wakker Aidenvironment
Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) Fernando Cavalcanti Founded November 2006 (meetings began 2004), standards agreed 2009 First certified soy available 2011 Executive Board has 3 equal voting blocks: Producers (20); Industry, Trade and Finance (57); and Civil Society (15) Cut-off date May 2009- no native forest cleared after this date can be cultivated
Sean Ryan Roundtable Certification Systems Several years to establish and agree on Principles & Criteria Challenge of expanding markets prepared to pay price premium 56% of available certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO) sold in 2010; <50% of all CSPO produced up until the end of 2011 has sold Certificates for CSPO down from $US40/ton in 2008 to $1/ton in 2011, a <1% price premium; current price $4
Rachel Kramer/National Wildlife Federation Future of Roundtables Code of Good Practice of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labeling (ISEAL) Alliance, RSB followed from the start Competition Greenhouse gas accounting important issue, impacts land conversion, addressed in different ways and to different extents Consumer demand REDD+
The Brazilian Amazon Amazonas Pará Maranhão Acre Rondônia Tocantins Mato Grosso Amazon Biome Amazon States
Soya Cultivation in Brazil 1970 1980 2005 Adapted from Greenpeace analysis based on data from CONAB, satellite imagery
Soya Expansion in the Amazon Companies provide seeds and agrochemicals Construct infrastructure for export As land prices increase in cerrado, agricultural frontier advancing into forest biome
Conservation Opportunities Four companies control majority of soya in the Amazon biome, so fewer to negotiate with Agribusiness major role in infrastructure development, a key driver of deforestation All companies depend on Europe as their major customer, where consumer power already had an impact (non-gm market)
Greenpeace Soya Campaign
Soya Moratorium July 24, 2006. Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries and Brazilian National Association of Grain Exporters agreed to not trade soya from areas within the Amazon biome, that are deforested after July 2006. Initial two-year agreement extended until January 2013. Soya Working Group established by signatories of moratorium and Brazilian and International NGOs Research by INPE found soybeans planted in only 0.25% of land in the Amazon biome cleared after the moratorium. Fernando Cavalcanti
Slaughterhouses in the Brazilian Amazon Slaughterhouses Forest Non-Forest Deforestation State Line Major Highway Imazon 2009
Brazilian Cattle Product Exports and Herd Size 13,000 12,000 Cattle in the Amazon (X10,000) 11,000 10,000 9,000 8,000 Non-Amazon Brazilian Cattle (X10,000) Beef, Leather, Live Cattle and Tallow Exports (USD Millions) 7,000 6,000 5,000 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 0 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 MDIC. 2011. Ministério do Desenvolvimento Indústria e Comércio Exterior, Secretaria do Comércio Exterior (Secex), Brasil. Available online at: http://aliceweb.desenvolvimento.gov.br/ ; IBGE. 2011. SIDRA (Sistema IBGE de Recuperação Automática). Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE). Available online at: http://www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/bda/tabela/listabl.asp?c=73&z=p&o=21
Rachel Kramer/National Wildlife Federation G4 Cattle Moratorium October 2009, G4 Agreement Agreement sets zero deforestation deadlines for direct and indirect suppliers Environmental and social requirements
Rachel Kramer/National Wildlife Federation G4 Cattle Moratorium % deforestation in 2010-11 in unregistered land, registered land and properties comprising the G4 cattle agreement 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 Land without CAR Land with CAR Ranches supplying "zero-deforestation" slaughterhouses
Area of Deforestation (km 2 ) Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 35,000 Deforestation Legal Amazon Deforestation Mato Grosso 30,000 25,000 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Year Source: PRODES 2010
Rachel Kramer/National Wildlife Federation Brazil- a special case? Sophisticated deforestation mapping and monitoring system High national concern over deforestation Large area of non-forest land available Key industries dominated by a handful of large companies
Michael Thirnbeck Moratoria versus Roundtables Moratoria form in months, temporary Set up to protect specific area, easily measurable Require majority adherence simultaneously Roundtable long-term measure to shift markets Can start small and grow, take several years to start certifying, difficulty obtaining premium
Michael Thirnbeck New Opportunities: synergies between policy and market measures Brazilian government involved in monitoring deforestation for the soya moratorium Several Amazon states have introduced a rural environmental registry following the G4 cattle agreement Belgium and the Netherlands: import only certified palm oil from 2015
Role of Consumers Consumer concern over deforestation has an important influence on corporate procurement policies Lack of willingness to pay premium impediment to growth of producers getting certified U.S. consumers have not shown same concern as those in the E.U.
Thank you! Acknowledgements: Holly Gibbs, Eric Palola This presentation is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Nathalie Walker, walkern@nwf.org www.nwf.org/deforestation