Latin America Prepares for New Trade Rules on Deforestation | REDD+ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

02/07/2024

A regional workshop on “Experiences and Progress in Implementing Market-Based Regulations on Deforestation” was held in Lima, Peru, on 24-25 April. The event was led by the Peruvian Ministries of Agricultural Development and Irrigation (MIDAGRI) and Foreign Trade and Tourism (MINCETUR), with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The workshop, jointly organised by UN REDD, Accelerating Innovative Monitoring for Forests (AIM4Forests) and the Forest Data Partnership, was attended by 66 representatives from various organisations from Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala and Peru, as well as the Delegation of the European Union (EU), the British Embassy in Peru, the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ), the Biodiversity Alliance-CIAT and Solidaridad.

The workshop aimed to share strategies and approaches to addressing market requirements related to deforestation, including the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), among Latin American countries. It aimed to accelerate understanding of these new regulations and identify preparedness actions to comply with them, with a focus on the cocoa, coffee and palm oil supply chains in Peru.

Peruvian authorities welcomed the participants and highlighted the country’s progress in terms of regulation.

Christian Garay, Deputy Minister of Policy at MIDAGRI in Peru, highlighted the country’s progress: “To comply with the European regulation, we have identified deforested areas and geolocated 90% of agricultural producers of coffee, cocoa and palm oil throughout the country. We are developing proposals for regulatory improvements regarding formal access to agricultural land and aspects related to environmental management in agricultural units to take into account the provisions of the European regulation.”

The workshop discussed four work streams related to different aspects of the EU Deforestation Regulation: geospatial information, traceability, legal criteria, and risk assessment and mitigation. Below is a summary of the discussions and proposals for each work stream.

Geospatial information

For geospatial information, the working group used an assessment framework developed by AIM4Forests, which helped to identify the state of data availability, challenges and readiness of seven countries to provide geospatial information on the location and risk of deforestation of agricultural plots. Data access and quality were identified as major challenges, with varying levels of preparedness between countries. A new open source solution, Whisp (What is in that plot?), from the Open Foris family, developed in collaboration between AIM4Forests and the Forest Data Partnership, was presented as potentially useful for developing geospatial analysis. It aims to implement evidence convergence within any plot with relevant forest monitoring information and support the implementation of the EU Deforestation-Free Products Regulation. Proposals included regional collaboration, the development of webinars and training sessions in Spanish, and piloting solutions in Colombia and Ecuador.

Workshop participants shared challenges and proposals.

Tracking

Discussions on traceability covered data management, the role of governments, technical solutions and the sustainability of the traceability system. Risks identified included monopolisation and misuse of data, emphasising the need for transparency, quality and governance agreements between the public and private sectors. Proposals included the creation of a unified regional platform for collecting interoperable supply chain information, developing training and communication activities for producers and their organisations and supporting the formalisation of the sector.

Legal criteria

A rapid gap assessment based on the legal matrix indicated that some dimensions required special attention, such as the protection of human rights. Seven legality blocks were identified: land-use rights; environmental protection; forest regulations, including forest management and biodiversity protection when directly related to timber use; third-party rights; labour rights; human rights protected under international law; the principle of free, prior and informed consent, as set out in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; and tax, anti-corruption, trade and customs regulations. These seven dimensions are relevant to the EU Regulation. Proposals included building national repositories of relevant legal instruments, exploring the possibility of adopting transitional legal instruments, and developing checklists and compliance tests for operators to help distinguish informality from illegality. Legal criteria for demand-side requirements are a particular area of ​​focus for the UN-REDD programme.

Different working groups addressed the main topics in a participatory manner.

Risk assessment and mitigation

Challenges related to identifying and categorising the risk of non-compliance with the EUDR criteria and information requirements were discussed. The working group noted challenges such as understanding what can be considered as ‘negligible’ risks, the informality of value chains, communication and coordination between different stakeholders and the need for greater EU support and guidance. Proposals included developing complementary mitigation tools and measures, creating national roadmaps and working with the private sector. An example of a handbook developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and FAO for companies on deforestation and due diligence in agricultural supply chains was presented.

Towards more sustainable production

Caroline Merle, FAO Forestry Officer, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to supporting countries on their journey towards more sustainable production: “With FAO, we accompany countries in their efforts to respond to market needs. The aim is to promote sustainable value chains that contribute to halting deforestation and the sustainable use of forests, while generating economic and social benefits for countries and their rural communities.”

The main actions proposed during the workshop to improve countries’ preparedness for the new rules included promoting greater institutional coordination and national action plans, improving direct government engagement with businesses, recognising producer associations as a key element of regulatory compliance and strengthening due diligence guidelines for operators.

In summary, the workshop proved to be a key platform for identifying and promoting effective strategies that foster due diligence towards sustainable production and provide countries with the technical tools to adapt, if they so wish, to the new trade rules on deforestation. It was useful in facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experiences, as well as strengthening the commitment of participating countries to more sustainable and inclusive production. FAO will continue to support these processes through technical advice, through UN-REDD, AIM4Forests and the Forest Data Partnership.

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