WHAT’S IN OUR 2020 CERTIFICATION PROGRAM?

deforestation

Going even further to protect the world’s forests andforest communities
Photo: Mohsin Kazmi

Nearly half of the Earth’s original forest cover has alreadybeen lost, and each year an additional 12 million hectares (29.5million acres) are destroyed according to a report from theGlobal Forest Watch. Not only is this tragic for the local communities and ecosystems deforestation affects, but also for thelarger impact it has on one of the world’s most pressing issues:climate change.
Trees are a natural climate solution that capture carbon dioxide (CO2), preventing it from accumulating in the atmosphere
and warming our planet. A new analysis estimates that better
management of forests alone could remove 7 billion metric tonsof carbon dioxide, or 7 trillion kilos, annually (the equivalent ofeliminating 1.5 billion cars—more than all of the cars in the world
today).

Over the past 30 years, the Rainforest Alliance has developed acomprehensive, 360-degree approach to protecting the world’sforests. In our new 2020 Certification Program, we are going evenfurther to safeguard our remaining forests and other naturalecosystems and increase native biodiversity and vegetation on
farms—all while supporting the livelihoods of farmers and forest
communities who rely on these ecosystems.

What is our new approach to deforestation?
In line with the approach advocated by the Accountability
Framework Initiative—and other leading environmental NGOs—
our new program not only prohibits deforestation but also thedestruction of all natural ecosystems, including wetlands andpeatlands—meaning more land will be protected.
The new Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard
does not allow the destruction or conversion of natural ecosystems since January 1st, 2014. In preparation for audits, the GPS
locations of certified farms will be checked for any evidence offorest conversion based on a customized forest baseline map.
This automated risk assessment will help auditors more effectively detect deforestation and farmers better address theirdeforestation risks. If cases of conversion after the cutoff date arefound, they are, in general, not eligible for certification, except forminor cases, which can be remediated.
The new standard also requires farmers to increase native tree
cover on existing farms and in agroforestry systems or conservation lands to ensure that farming not only has a minimal negative
impact, but that it also generates positive impacts on biodiversity, climate, and the long-term sustainability of the landscape.

Looking across Finca El Platanillo in western Guatemala, the first coffee
farm certified “climate-friendly” by the Rainforest Alliance. Coffee isplanted along the mountainside with native plants and trees which
provide shade and mitigate the effects of soil erosion.
Photo: Creagh Crossthe Rainforest Alliance 2020 Certification Program | deforestation

How is this different from the previous standards?
The UTZ Code of Conduct has prohibited deforestation or degradation of primary forests since 2008 as well as that of secondaryforests unless under certain conditions. The 2017 Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard has prohibited destruction of High Conservation Value areas since 2005 and destructionof all natural ecosystems since 2014. The new Rainforest Alliance
Sustainable Agriculture Standard follows this broader approach,aiming to conserve both forests and all natural ecosystems.
We chose 2014 as the cutoff date for several reasons:• In our reimagining of certification, we are pushing for moredata-driven insights. With this in mind, the year 2014 allows
for much better checks with remote sensing, since satellite data is more readily available from 2014 onwards. This
will provide more robust data for improved, data-driven
assurance.
•Previously, the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ systems had
different cutoff dates for different forests. Choosing one rule
for all makes the requirements and implementation clearer.

•The 2014 cutoff date is in line with market and sector commitments, such as The New York Declaration on Forests andothers, as well as more rigorous approaches to deforestation by similar standards.

What other Rainforest Alliance interventions
support this work?
Certification is just one of our tools embedded within a holistic
approach to create deforestation-free supply chains. Beyond
certification, we support this mission through our tailored programs that work with companies to implement no-conversion
commitments in supply chains where certification is not anoption.
We also drive for landscape approaches that engage all producers of different crops and suppliers in one geographical area toensure that a deforestation-free certified supply chain doesn’t
inadvertently increase deforestation in other crops or uncertified
supply chains.
Public policy and advocacy are crucial as well to bring all actors
together on this issue. In consuming countries, the Rainforest
Alliance supports a mix of regulation, partnerships, and voluntarycommitments. In production countries, we work to ensure national public institutions have the capacity to enforce forest protection policies and that these policies are supportive of vulnerable

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JUNE 2020groups, since ultimately, this is the only way that forest protection
measures can be fully successful.

Is this particularly relevant for certain crops
or countries?
Deforestation is most concentrated in, and highest on the agenda of, the cocoa sector. In the coming years, we also expect moreattention on the topic in other sectors, namely coffee, as climatechange drives coffee production upslope into forested areas. The
Rainforest Alliance is currently developing a risk-based approachfor monitoring and preventing deforestation. In priority countries,
this approach will be based on custom-made forest layers in aneffort to provide the most accurate data on risks of deforestation
to allow auditors and farmers to address the issue better. Special
attention will be paid to the deforestation hotspots in Nicaragua,
Honduras, Peru, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, andIndonesia.

Want to know more?
Read more about deforestation and what to expect in our newcertification program. For specific questions, email us at cs@ra.org.

Reimagining certification
Reimagining certification is our long-term vision for thefuture of certification. It is part of our wider strategy at theRainforest Alliance to drive change through our four mainareas of work.
In June 2020, the Rainforest Alliance takes the first stepon its journey towards “reimagining certification” with thepublication of its 2020 Certification Program. We’ve beenworking on this new program since 2018, when the Rainforest Alliance and UTZ merged.
The 2020 Certification Program—including a new Sustainable Agriculture Standard—is a unique opportunity to reallychange the way that certification works and how it delivers
value to the many people and businesses around the worldthat use it.
Between June 2020 and mid-2021, the Rainforest Alliancewill roll out the new program around the world, including acomprehensive training plan. Audits against the new program will begin in mid-2021.

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