In the context of emerging international trade regulations on deforestation-free commodities, the drivers of households’ deforestation in conservation landscapes are of interest. The role of households’ livelihood strategies including cocoa production, and the effects of human-elephant conflict are investigated. Using a unique dataset from a survey of 1035 households in the Tridom landscape in the Congo basin, the spatial autoregressive model shows that: (1) Households imitate the deforestation decisions of their neighbors; (2) A marginally higher income from cocoa production-based livelihood portfolios is associated with six to seven times higher deforestation compared to other livelihood strategies with a significant spillover effect on neighboring households’ deforestation. The increase in income, mainly from cocoa production-based livelihoods in open-access systems can have a negative effect on forests. Households with a higher share of auto-consumption are associated with lower deforestation. If economic development brings better market access and lower auto-consumption shares, this is likely to positively influence deforestation. Without proper land use planning/zoning associated with incentives, promoting sustainable agriculture, such as complex cocoa agroforestry systems, may lead to forest degradation and deforestation.
Tag: cocoa
The global demand for cocoa has increased. As a result, the area used for cocoa production rapidly increased. Africa alone produces over 70% of the cocoa in the world, with Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire being the main producers. Although listed as a crop that drives deforestation and forest degradation, cocoa farming has the potential to actively contribute to forest restoration. If practised in agroforestry and fallow or degraded areas, it can considerably contribute to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, poverty mitigation, and other services. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which features a large forest in the Congo Basin (60%), has become a new hotspot for this cash crop. As one of the areas suitable for the development of this crop, which has been grown since colonial times, Tshopo province, DRC, is experiencing rapid increases in its cocoa-growing area. As such, our objective in this study was to track the trajectories of cocoa farming in Tshopo and determine their contributions to climate change mitigation through the restoration of degraded ecosystems. We described all cocoa development initiatives in the Tshopo province, along with their potential responses to climate change.
The global demand for cocoa has increased. As a result, the area used for cocoa production rapidly increased. Africa alone produces over 70% of the cocoa in the world, with Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire being the main producers. Although listed as a crop that drives deforestation and forest degradation, cocoa farming has the potential to actively contribute to forest restoration. If practised in agroforestry and fallow or degraded areas, it can considerably contribute to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, poverty mitigation, and other services. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which features a large forest in the Congo Basin (60%), has become a new hotspot for this cash crop. As one of the areas suitable for the development of this crop, which has been grown since colonial times, Tshopo province, DRC, is experiencing rapid increases in its cocoa-growing area. As such, our objective in this study was to track the trajectories of cocoa farming in Tshopo and determine their contributions to climate change mitigation through the restoration of degraded ecosystems. We described all cocoa development initiatives in the Tshopo province, along with their potential responses to climate change.
The global demand for cocoa has increased. As a result, the area used for cocoa production rapidly increased. Africa alone produces over 70% of the cocoa in the world, with Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire being the main producers. Although listed as a crop that drives deforestation and forest degradation, cocoa farming has the potential to actively contribute to forest restoration. If practised in agroforestry and fallow or degraded areas, it can considerably contribute to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, poverty mitigation, and other services. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which features a large forest in the Congo Basin (60%), has become a new hotspot for this cash crop. As one of the areas suitable for the development of this crop, which has been grown since colonial times, Tshopo province, DRC, is experiencing rapid increases in its cocoa-growing area. As such, our objective in this study was to track the trajectories of cocoa farming in Tshopo and determine their contributions to climate change mitigation through the restoration of degraded ecosystems. We described all cocoa development initiatives in the Tshopo province, along with their potential responses to climate change.
The global demand for cocoa has increased. As a result, the area used for cocoa production rapidly increased. Africa alone produces over 70% of the cocoa in the world, with Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire being the main producers. Although listed as a crop that drives deforestation and forest degradation, cocoa farming has the potential to actively contribute to forest restoration. If practised in agroforestry and fallow or degraded areas, it can considerably contribute to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, poverty mitigation, and other services. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which features a large forest in the Congo Basin (60%), has become a new hotspot for this cash crop. As one of the areas suitable for the development of this crop, which has been grown since colonial times, Tshopo province, DRC, is experiencing rapid increases in its cocoa-growing area. As such, our objective in this study was to track the trajectories of cocoa farming in Tshopo and determine their contributions to climate change mitigation through the restoration of degraded ecosystems. We described all cocoa development initiatives in the Tshopo province, along with their potential responses to climate change.
The global demand for cocoa has increased. As a result, the area used for cocoa production rapidly increased. Africa alone produces over 70% of the cocoa in the world, with Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire being the main producers. Although listed as a crop that drives deforestation and forest degradation, cocoa farming has the potential to actively contribute to forest restoration. If practised in agroforestry and fallow or degraded areas, it can considerably contribute to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, poverty mitigation, and other services. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which features a large forest in the Congo Basin (60%), has become a new hotspot for this cash crop. As one of the areas suitable for the development of this crop, which has been grown since colonial times, Tshopo province, DRC, is experiencing rapid increases in its cocoa-growing area. As such, our objective in this study was to track the trajectories of cocoa farming in Tshopo and determine their contributions to climate change mitigation through the restoration of degraded ecosystems. We described all cocoa development initiatives in the Tshopo province, along with their potential responses to climate change.
The global demand for cocoa has increased. As a result, the area used for cocoa production rapidly increased. Africa alone produces over 70% of the cocoa in the world, with Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire being the main producers. Although listed as a crop that drives deforestation and forest degradation, cocoa farming has the potential to actively contribute to forest restoration. If practised in agroforestry and fallow or degraded areas, it can considerably contribute to biodiversity conservation, climate change mitigation, poverty mitigation, and other services. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which features a large forest in the Congo Basin (60%), has become a new hotspot for this cash crop. As one of the areas suitable for the development of this crop, which has been grown since colonial times, Tshopo province, DRC, is experiencing rapid increases in its cocoa-growing area. As such, our objective in this study was to track the trajectories of cocoa farming in Tshopo and determine their contributions to climate change mitigation through the restoration of degraded ecosystems. We described all cocoa development initiatives in the Tshopo province, along with their potential responses to climate change.
A Review of the Trade-Offs across Different Cocoa Production Systems in Ghana
Cocoa production is one of the leading causes of deforestation in West Africa. Agroforestry cocoa systems are increasingly promoted as a possible solution to deforestation. This study seeks to understand the trade-offs within agroforestry cocoa in full-sun and high-tech plantation cocoa systems in Ghana. It uses secondary data collected from an extensive literature search. The results established various trade-offs between cocoa yields and other provisioning services derived from the agroforestry services. While the cocoa yields in high-tech systems are almost thrice those in agroforestry systems, the total value of all the provisioning services is highest within the shaded systems. The economic value of per hectarage yield is estimated at USD 8140, USD 5320 and USD 5050 for shaded, full-sun and high-tech systems, respectively. Agroforestry systems also have higher ecosystem services compared to full-sun cocoa and high-tech cocoa systems. The high pesticide use in Ghanas high-tech cocoa systems is also strongly linked to water and soil pollution, as well as adverse effects on human health. The study concludes that different cocoa production systems in Ghana yield different types of ecosystem provision and are associated with externalities such as the effect of pesticides on soils, water and human health, thus there is a need for the careful consideration of the system from policy and practice perspectives.
Relevance of a FLEGT-like approach for West and Central African cocoa sustainability
Tropical commodities such as timber, oil palm, coffee, soy or cocoa are commonly considered drivers of deforestation. Illegal agricultural land clearing is a debatable concept but it has been responsible for half of tropical deforestation since 2000 (Lawson 2014). Both the private sector and governments have started to acknowledge that some of these supply chains were not fully in compliance with national laws of the countries where products are grown (Lawson, 2015). The FLEGT approach has been designed by the European Union to deal with those two interrelated issues of legality and deforestation. Starting with timber, it encourages forest law enforcement, government and private sector transparency on forest activities, and participation of stakeholders for better governance. The EU also commits to stopping the import of illegal timber through a system of VPA (Voluntary Partnership Agreement) licenses and a due diligence approach. A reflection has started on the relevance of an extension of such a public-public agreement to other commodity chains such as cocoa and on the sustainability potential of legal cocoa in the context of increasing demand for sustainable and “zero-deforestation” cocoa and the private sector publicly making commitments to end deforestation (New York Declaration on Forests 2014). This question is studied in two different contexts: the “rebirth” of the cocoa sector in Cameroon and the post cocoa-boom challenges in Ivory Coast.
Preliminary estimation of above-ground carbon storage in cocoa agroforests of Bengamisa-Yangambi forest landscape (Democratic Republic of Congo)
In the perspective of using cocoa as a response to climate change, a preliminary carbon stock assessment was conducted in cocoa agroforests of the Bengamisa-Yangambi forest landscape in the north-east of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Data were collected in 25 plots of 2500 m2 each, spread over 16 villages. Above-ground carbon stock assessment on cocoa trees and their associated plants revealed that cocoa agroforests store on average 44.48 Mg ha−1 of above-ground carbon of which, cocoa-associated plants represent 83.68%. The diversity (species richness) of cocoa associated plants determine the level of above-ground carbon stored in cocoa agroforests. Trees less than 50 cm in diameter stored a larger amount of above-ground carbon. Cocoa agroforests with associated plants dominated by forest species (Model F) store 1.76 and 1.72 times more carbon, respectively, than those where associated plants are dominated by oil palm (Model P) and a mixture of plant types (forest species mixed with oil palm plants, or Model FP). Associated plants inside cocoa agroforests also play additional roles to support livelihoods such as health care, household consumption and timber. Therefore, beyond carbon storage, cocoa agroforest is an important reservoir of some local species and thus useful for biodiversity conservation and local livelihoods. As cocoa agroforests in DRC are recognized as one of the main responses to climate change, this study constitutes an early contribution to the process of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD +) in forest landscapes in this country of the Congo Basin.