Bogotá, September 2019
One year after the launch of the Cocoa, Forests & Peace Initiative in Colombia, an ambitious 2030 Action Plan (in Spanish) was released in September that details how the initiative signatories will achieve the commitments agreed upon in the Framework for Action.
This 2030 Action Plan was developed by the CF&P Technical Committee with input from key stakeholders from the cocoa value chain, and forest and conservation organizations. Its development was based on a broad consultation process, which included municipality visits, and organization of 10 workshops with inputs of more than 21 institutions and 85 cocoa associations. The Plan features 5 strategic results to 2030, based on 45 milestones as well as 76 activities, which are to be developed during the next two years.
The first strategic result focuses on the establishment of zero-deforestation cocoa production models that contribute to the conservation, restoration, and management of forest and water resources. These models are to be developed at the landscape scale through public-private partnerships. This strategic result provides an answer to Colombia’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase agricultural productivity, and conserve and restore forests.
The second strategic result focuses on the creation of financial instruments that can help establish these productive models towards the target of zero-deforestation cocoa. This will require strengthening institutions of the cocoa sector, with an emphasis on the support to cocoa producers – which is another strategic result of the 2030 Action Plan.
The last two strategic results relate to the establishment of a monitoring, verification and traceability system, and the development of a communication and transparency strategy towards the industry, consumers and government at local, regional, national and international level.
According to the Deputy Minister for Rural Development, Javier Pérez Burgos “Agriculture and forests can coexist. The Cacao, Forests & Peace Initiative is an important step forward in the country’s efforts to achieve sustainable agriculture, with zero deforestation, increasingly responsible to the environment, where producers improve their practices.”
About the signatories of the Cocoa, Forests & Peace Initiative
We are delighted to welcome a number of new institutions in CF&P, as signatories of the Framework for Action: Nacional de Chocolates, Swiss Embassy – SECO, Climate Focus, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Alisos Organization, Rainforest Alliance, Lök Foods, Mariana Cocoa Export, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).
About the Cacao, Forests & Peace Initiative
In 2018, Colombia signed the Cacao, Forests & Peace Initiative through the Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development, Agriculture and Rural Development, the cocoa industry represented by Casa Lucker and the national union Fedecao, The Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) and the World Resources Institute (WRI), with the support of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF).
For more information:
Catalina Vanegas Catalina.vanegas@alisos.net