Cocoa & Forests Initiative

The Cocoa & Forests Initiative Eight Core Commitments

In line with Sustainable Development Goals 13 (Climate Action) and 15 (Life on Land) and the Paris Climate Agreement, Cocoa & Forests Initiative companies and governments have committed to:

1. Prohibit and prevent activities in the cocoa sector that cause or contribute to any further deforestation or forest degradation. For Ghana, this relates to Wildlife Sanctuaries, Wildlife Resource Reserves, Forest Reserves, and unprotected off-reserve forest lands.

2. Respect the rights of cocoa farmers, including identifying and mitigating social risks, and sequencing the implementation of actions to minimize potential adverse social and economic impacts;

3. Promote the effective restoration and long-term conservation of National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Wildlife Resource Reserves, Forest Reserves, and unprotected off-reserve forest lands in Ghana;

4. Strengthen supply chain mapping, with the end goal of full traceability at the farm-level;

5. Implement verifiable actions and timebound targets on the basis of sound data, robust and credible methodologies, stakeholder consultation, and realistic timeframes;

6. Implement agreed actions in the context of a broader landscape-level approach, with strong links with similar initiatives in other commodities, and full alignment with the national REDD+ strategy and other relevant national strategies and plans such as the new Ghana Cocoa Sector Development Strategy II;

7. Work together to implement the Framework actions, and mobilize the necessary financing, resources and technical support for implementation, including continued engagement in a multi-stakeholder process for dialogue on key issues, development of effective implementation plans, joint learning and knowledge sharing and enable institutional capacity;

8. Provide effective monitoring and reporting on progress on commitments and actions to ensure transparency and accountability.