February 22, 2024 \u2013 As governments face increasing pressure to protect their forests, new research highlights the importance of sharing the wins and setbacks of tried and tested action in the Global South.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A new report<\/a> from the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) analyzes successes and challenges encountered by five developing countries in their attempts to reduce deforestation and improve forest conservation. From these experiences, it distils seven common findings to help guide governments seeking similar goals in a fast-evolving regulatory context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cForests sustain and protect us in a myriad of ways, but they are disappearing\u2014fast. The world has lost 420 million hectares of forest in the past 3 decades. That\u2019s an area bigger than India,\u201d says Cristina Larrea, IISD\u2019s lead on sustainability standards. \u201cBut there is hope. We must not lose sight of the efforts many countries in the Global South have been undertaking to curb this trend for many decades, nor the value of sharing the lessons they have learned to inspire policy action based on best practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The report outlines and compares various policy measures that Costa Rica, Gabon, Indonesia, Peru, and Rwanda have put in place to address deforestation and explores the role of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) in complementing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It further finds that governments tend to have more success preserving and restoring forests if they use a combination of measures tailored to the local context and targeted at high-risk areas. They also stand to gain from supporting producers with maintaining compliance, mobilizing funds from both the public and private sectors, leveraging VSSs to support policies, and using physical and digital monitoring to measure results and flag issues early.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEnvironmental issues are getting harder to ignore in the international trade arena,\u201d says Florencia Sarmiento, Policy Analyst, IISD. \u201cGovernments must comply with an emerging suite of international regulations and frameworks, including several unilateral trade-related measures, such as due diligence requirements, aimed at tackling deforestation driven by the production and trade of commodities. Many have also started looking into cooperative approaches, such as including forest conservation provisions in free trade agreements.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As policy-makers gather for the World Trade Organization\u2019s Thirteenth Ministerial Conference next week, IISD is bringing together thought leaders at the Trade + Sustainability Hub<\/a> to discuss how trade policy can deliver on critical sustainability challenges such as deforestation. IISD experts will share findings from the new report in a session<\/a> on how we can achieve fair and inclusive value chains that are deforestation-free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Contact<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information or to set up an interview, contact media@iisd.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n