Illegal Deforestation, A Deterrence in Global Food Production

Indonesia

Brazil

Published May 24, 2021

Illegal deforestation continues to plague the food industry and is behind the production of many popular foods such as soybean, palm oil, beef, and cocoa. According to research conducted by Forest Trends, a US-based non-profit organization, 4.5 million hectares of forest are lost yearly due to the illegal clearance for commercial agriculture in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa. Between 2013 and 2019, approximately 70% of tropical forests cleared for cattle ranching and crop cultivation were illegally deforested. If the practice were to continue, it is expected to affect global efforts to combat climate change, biodiversity loss, and emerging pandemics.

Deforestation linked with the production of major foods

Indonesia is home to Asia's most extensive and the world's third-largest tropical rainforest and is one of the most biodiverse nations globally. However, since 2002 Indonesia has lost over nine million hectares of its primary forests, partly to palm oil plantations and small-scale agriculture. The most affected regions are the islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan, accounting for almost 90% of Indonesia's forest loss. According to Forest Trends, about 81% of forested land in Indonesia has been illegally cleared to produce palm oil.

*Encroachment and forest clearing for a palm plantation in Indonesia. (Source: Mongabay)*

According to Mapbiomas, a multi-institutional initiative comprising universities, NGOs, and technology firms, 99% of the deforestation in Brazil is presumably illegal. According to Forest Greens, between 2012 and 2017, 93% of land transformed in Brazil to produce soybean for consumption and animal feed was conducted illegally, 93% of forest clearance for cocoa plantations, and 81% for beef. The production of agricultural products, such as cocoa in Honduras and West Africa and corn in Argentina, is also embroiled in illegal forest clearance. Illegal deforestation occurs when forest clearance breaks national laws, such as loggers and companies failing to secure permits from landowners or conduct environmental impact assessments, including cases involving tax evasion.

Deforestation has significant implications for global efforts to curb climate change, as trees absorb approximately a third of the planet-warming carbon emissions produced worldwide. According to Forest Greens, from 2013 to 2019, the carbon emitted from illegal deforestation for agriculture accounted for about 41% of all emissions from tropical deforestation. Illegal deforestation is a primary driver of forest loss and creates risks for supply chain companies and financial institutions that may unknowingly supply or finance unlawfully sourced commodities.

*A deforested tract of land near an area affected by fire in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil. (Source: PHYS)*

Legislation expected

Conservationists and legislators in the US, the EU, and the UK are pushing for legislation to prevent goods produced on illegally cleared lands from reaching supermarket shelves. In Oregon, plans are in progress to place a ban on US imports of agricultural commodities grown on illegally deforested land. The UK is also preparing to introduce similar legislation.

Brazil is under international pressure to regain control of illegal deforestation in the country from organizations as well as the EU under the EU–Mercosur Trade Agreement. Failing to heed these calls will exacerbate the prevailing economic crisis and challenge Brazil's post-COVID-19 recovery. Indonesia's deforestation rate has reduced dramatically, reaching an all-time low in 2020, owing to government policies prohibiting forest clearing. According to the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, deforestation reached 115,459 hectares of forest cover in 2020, a 75% reduction from 2019.