Forest-positive cocoa: driving global change through 7 threatened tropical forests

There is a dark secret behind consuming chocolate. Big changes are needed in the sector, otherwise cocoa production will continue to be a major driver of tropical deforestation, whilst smallholders struggle to make a sustainable living.

Cocoa is driving deforestation in the tropics on a devastating scale, including some of the most globally important areas for biodiversity. Smallholders produce at least 65% of the global cocoa supply, but struggle with low productivity due to aging trees. A lack of market infrastructure, producer organisations and investment capital compounds their problem. 

The cocoa market is highly concentrated with only nine companies controlling global chocolate processing and manufacturing. This competition lowers prices, which is passed onto farmers, who receive a very small percentage of the overall price of a chocolate bar. Ninety percent of the cocoa sector has committed to moving towards zero deforestation cocoa supply chains and tackling poverty; however, progress has been slow due to the scale and complexity of the challenge.

While EU governments and companies have begun to recognise the problem, company efforts to safeguard their supply chains tend to exclude the smallholder farmers at the deforestation frontier. Instead, there is a need for holistic, landscape-scale approaches that address the underlying causes of land use change. 

Implementing sustainable cocoa production requires innovative approaches to conservation, applied at the landscape level and involving coalitions of private sector and government actors.