Helping to end deforestation and promoting reforestation

The World Cocoa Foundation and our members are committed to ending cocoa-related deforestation and taking climate action.

Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the two main cocoa-producing countries, have lost most of their forests. A big part of this loss is due to cocoa. This deforestation has historically also been linked to poverty, insufficient law enforcement, immigration, logging and mining activities and more. It contributes to climate change, which directly threatens cocoa farmers’ livelihoods.

But your chocolate can be part of the solution. WCF helps achieve Sustainable Development Goal 13 and 15 by convening cocoa and chocolate companies in fighting deforestation and climate change.

Toward Forest Positive Cocoa

Top cocoa-producing countries and leading chocolate and cocoa companies have worked together since 2017 within the framework of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative to fight cocoa-related deforestation. In Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, the Cocoa & Forests Initiative focuses on forest protection and restoration, sustainable cocoa production and farmers’ livelihoods, and community engagement and social inclusion. In 2018, Colombia became the first country in Latin America to sign up to the principles of the Initiative and join the global effort to ensure deforestation-free cocoa.

These actions, which are aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement, play a valuable role in sequestering global carbon stocks and in preserving the precious ecosystem services that forests bring to local communities.

The Cocoa & Forests Initiative helps achieve Sustainable Development Goal 15, by protecting, restoring, and promoting sustainable management of forests.

Cocoa and Climate Change

Through our Climate Smart Cocoa program, WCF helped identify solutions to climate challenges, such as fluctuating weather patterns and prolonged drought, faced by smallholder cocoa farmers. With improved planting materials, professional farming techniques, and sustainable soil fertility management, cocoa productivity can be responsibly increased and farmers can better cope with climate change.

WCF’s Climate Smart Cocoa program helped achieve Sustainable Development Goal 13, by taking urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts in the cocoa sector.

  • Featured Expert Elizabeth Howard

    Environmental Associate
    World Cocoa Foundation
  • Sustainably farmed cocoa pods in West Africa Sustainability, cocoa sustainability, sustainable cocoa, why is sustainability important, sustainability defined, sustainability movement, cocoa plant, cocoa bean, cacao, raw cacao, deforestation, what is deforestation Headshot photo of WCF Cocoa & Forests Initiative Manager Charlette Ouattara

    Featured Expert Charlette Ouattara

    Cocoa & Forests Initiative Program Manager, Côte d'Ivoire
    World Cocoa Foundation

  • Featured Expert Vincent Awotwe-Pratt

    Cocoa & Forests Initiative Program Manager, Ghana
    World Cocoa Foundation
Sustainability, cocoa sustainability, sustainable cocoa, why is sustainability important, sustainability defined, sustainability movement, cocoa plant, cocoa bean, cacao, raw cacao, deforestation, what is deforestation
Colombia is the first country in Latin America to join the Cocoa & Forests Initiative Photo by CasaLuker

By accelerating productivity interventions and growing more cocoa on less land, we can help stop deforestation and ensure smallholders continue to improve their livelihoods.

Ethan Budiansky Ethan Budiansky Senior Director, Environment , World Cocoa Foundation Learn more

Related Resources