SUSTAIN-COCOA

In the proposed research, funded by Biodiversa we aim to investigate the conditions under which supply chain sustainability initiatives (SSIs) can lead to reduced deforestation and increased shade-​tree cover in cocoa production systems and, in turn, a triple-​win of increased biodiversity, climate change mitigation, and livelihood resilience. Our cross-​scale, interdisciplinary, and transnational approach will provide insights into the on-​the-ground impacts of existing SSIs in the cocoa sector and the potential impacts of scaling up SSIs to reduce deforestation and enhance shade-​tree cover. Furthermore, it will clarify the role that agroforestry can play in helping deliver multiple sustainability objectives: protecting biodiversity, climate mitigation, and improved farmer livelihoods. It thus aligns well with the EU’s efforts to step up action to protect and restore the world’s forests.

Our main outputs in this project so far are:

The study by Renier et al. 2023 about transparency, traceability and deforestation in Cote d’Ivoire, with an insight summarizing the main findings.

The traceability data published on the Trase platform for Cote d’Ivoire (with volumes and embedded deforestation exposure per department, per trader, per importing country).

The updated database of all cooperatives and their buyers in Cote d’Ivoire.

The insight published about our inability to trace cocoa from Ghana due to the lack of public disclosures by companies.

Our main partners in this project are:

Prof. Goedele Van den Broeck at UCLouvain, working on socio-economic aspects of cocoa in West Africa including child labor.

Trase with whom we develop cocoa supply chain datasets and transparency.

Cambridge University with Prof. Rachael Garrett, who coordinates the SUSTAIN-COCOA project, and her team, working on zero deforestation policies in cocoa and other contexts.

ETH Zurich with Jan Dirk Wegner and Alexander Becker, whose team produced a cocoa map for Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana for 2019-2021 (see here) and who are currently working on shade and carbon maps for cocoa.

The University of Queensland with Dr. Wilma Hart working among others on shade tree mapping in cocoa plantations and tradeoffs and synergies between shade and yields.

CIAT with Dr. Christian Bunn working among others on impacts of climate change on cocoa.