An estimated one-third of agrifood exports are traded within global supply chains (FAO, 2022). While this global trade supports economic growth and development, meeting and facilitating global demand for commodities also impacts our forests, which are home to an estimated two-thirds of the world’s biodiversity. Since 1990, an estimated 420 million hectares of forests have been lost through deforestation (FAO, 2020). Nearly 90% of tropical deforestation has taken place as a result of agricultural expansion (FAO, 2021).
Up to 39% of tropical deforestation is estimated to be the result of the international trade of commodities that are sold in high-income markets (Godar et al, 2019). While deforestation takes place upstream in supply chains, businesses and governments around the world all play a critical role in curbing deforestation.
To help companies reduce the risks of deforestation and forest degradation, FAO and OECD developed the OECD-FAO Business Handbook on Deforestation and Due Diligence in Agricultural Supply Chains. This handbook is informed by FAO’s extensive work and experience on halting deforestation and forest degradation and promoting responsible governance of tenure. The handbook is available in three languages and a shorter version (“brochure”) is available in five languages as follows:
The OECD-FAO Business Handbook on Deforestation and Due Diligence in Agricultural Supply Chains is available in: English| Spanish| Italian | German
The brochure version of the OECD-FAO Business Handbook on Deforestation and Due Diligence in Agricultural Supply Chains is available in: English | Spanish| French| Indonesian| Portuguese
FAO’s work on Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) in Agriculture – which includes the uptake of the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains, and the OECD-FAO Business Handbook on Deforestation and Due Diligence in Agricultural Supply Chains – is rooted in cooperating with governments, businesses and other institutions in trade-related developmental impacts. On agricultural supply chains and deforestation, FAO’s Markets and Trade Division works in cooperation with the Forestry Division to combine expertise on global trade, business and supply chains with expertise on sustainable forest management.
Publications
Halting deforestation from agricultural value chains: the role of governments
2022
This paper summarizes the current state of concepts and approaches for addressing deforestation in the trade, marketing, and production of agricultural commodities that have a disproportionate impact on forests at international, national, and landscape level. To date, predominant attention has been directed towards the role of the private sector and "consumer countries" that shape market regulation.
OECD-FAO Practical Business Tool on Deforestation, Forest Degradation and Due Diligence in Agricultural Supply Chains
2021
This flyer introduces the OECD-FAO Practical Business Tool on Deforestation, Forest Degradation and Due Diligence in Agricultural Supply Chains. The tool builds on the recommendations of the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains and explains how businesses can implement its 5-step framework for risk-based due diligence to identify and mitigate deforestation and forest degradation impacts in agricultural supply chains.
