Many of the world’s irreplaceable natural ecosystems – and the biodiversity they are home to – are being destroyed at an alarming pace. Agricultural production is a primary driver of this loss. Between 2000 and 2018, over 152 million hectares of forest area was converted for both large-scale and small-scale agriculture. The consequences of this for the world’s biodiversity are immense: as more ecosystems are degraded and destroyed for food production, an estimated 86% of species are at risk of extinction.
It is more important than ever that policymakers recognize the importance of deforestation and conversion-free (DCF) production in meeting biodiversity goals – and take action to capitalize on related policies. The ongoing revision of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) offers an opportunity to translate these global commitments into concrete policy measures.
In collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Climate Focus produced “Integrating Deforestation and Conversion-Free Supply Chains into NBSAPs” which lays out five steps for policymakers and other stakeholders to further harness the power of DCF policies to meet national and international biodiversity goals. It clarifies the links between Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) targets and DCF production and highlights opportunities for DCF production policies to contribute to the GBF.
