Reducing commodity-driven forest and biodiversity loss by exploring and filling data gaps for due diligence

通过探索和填补尽职调查的数据空白，减少商品驱动的森林和生物多样性丧失

• 批准号: NE/X016277/1
• 负责人: Jonathan Green
• 金额: $ 4.14万
• 依托单位: University of York
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FX016277%2F1
• 关键词: Reducing; commodity; driven; forest; biodiversity

The project aims to reduce commodity-driven forest and biodiversity loss and to guide sustainable investments by making untapped data and methods accessible to relevant stakeholders and due diligence processes. Almost half of global deforestation is linked to the production of commodities such as palm oil, soy, beef, rubber, coffee, cocoa and wood fibre. There is increasing pressure on finance and business sectors to invest and source responsibly but, due to complex global supply chains and data gaps, environmentally-sound decision making is non-trivial. While there are increasing data on the impacts of oil palm and soy, the impacts of other commodities like rubber are more challenging to map using satellite-based remote sensing. Rubber, a forest-like tree crop, is planted in a small and scattered fashion by six million smallholders and its complex global rubber supply chains are largely opaque. Consequently, although the production of rubber is known to lead to forest, net carbon and biodiversity loss, these impacts remain uncertain or unquantified and challenging to address. Greenwashing and leakage are widespread, and rubber benefits from both rapidly expanding voluntary carbon credit markets and 'development' concessions. Only a very small fraction of currently produced rubber is credibly certified. Even a coarser location-based deforestation risk approach is hampered by the lack of global spatial data on rubber and forest loss. Given the comparatively lower data availability and public awareness the financial, corporate and policy sectors have mainly focussed on commodities with easier entry points and leverage. However, the situation is now changing with the free availability of high-resolution satellite data and cloud computing, combined with greater demand for deforestation-free finance and commodities. This project will use natural rubber as a pilot to explore how new data and networks can be leveraged to map, quantify and tackle commodity-driven deforestation and biodiversity loss in 'difficult' commodities. The aim is to facilitate better financial and corporate decision making and to support zero-deforestation and biodiversity loss commitments. We will develop a multi-stakeholder network consisting of financial institutions, companies, civil society and science communities to synthesise information gaps and to co-create frameworks and tools for due diligence provisions. We will also facilitate free and high-resolution monitoring of rubber-driven forest loss, via the use of maps and apps. These will build on our recently developed method for mapping rubber and forest loss at unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution, which we will expand to global coverage. The new high-resolution data will also be coupled with existing and developing biodiversity metrics to provide a much-needed assessment of where biodiversity risks are highest within production landscapes. Finally, we will scope a rubber supply chain model to contribute to greater transparency of the sector. The project partners include Global Canopy who, through the Aligned accountability project represent 11 Financial Institutions; the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber, whose members represent over 50% of the global natural rubber volume; and Forest Stewardship Council who developed a chain of custody rubber certification. The academic partners, Stockholm Environment Institute York and Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, contribute extensive experience in remote sensing, biodiversity modelling, biodiversity impact metrics and commodity supply chain models. Combined, the partners have the data and leverage that could transform the natural rubber market, which is timely as currently low global rubber prices are expected to rise again. The network and knowledge gained through this pilot project will enable us to expand to other deforestation-risk commodities (phase 2) where there are comparable information needs and implementation challenges.

该项目旨在减少商品驱动的森林和生物多样性损失，并通过制造未开发的数据和方法可访问相关利益相关者和尽职调查过程来指导可持续投资。几乎一半的全球森林砍伐与棕榈油，大豆，牛肉，橡胶，咖啡，可可和木纤维等商品的生产有关。财务和业务部门的压力越来越大，负责任地投资和来源，但是由于全球供应链和数据差距的复杂，环境决策是非平凡的。尽管关于油棕和大豆影响的数据越来越多，但橡胶等其他商品的影响更具挑战性地使用基于卫星的遥感来绘制。橡胶是一种类似森林的树作物，由600万小农户以一种小而分散的方式种植，其复杂的全球橡胶供应链在很大程度上是不透明的。因此，尽管众所周知，橡胶的生产会导致森林，净碳和生物多样性丧失，但这些影响仍然不确定或不确定且挑战性地解决。绿色和泄漏是广泛的，橡胶受益于迅速扩大的自愿碳信贷市场和“开发”优惠。只有一小部分当前生产的橡胶才能获得可靠的认证。由于缺乏有关橡胶和森林损失的全球空间数据，甚至可以阻碍一种基于位置的森林砍伐风险方法。鉴于数据可用性和公众意识较低，财务，公司和政策部门主要集中在具有更容易入学点和杠杆作用的商品上。但是，现在情况正在随着高分辨率卫星数据和云计算的自由供应而发生变化，再加上对无森林砍伐的财务和商品的需求更大。该项目将使用天然橡胶作为试点，以探索如何利用新的数据和网络来绘制，量化和应对以商品驱动的森林砍伐和“困难”商品的生物多样性损失。目的是促进更好的财务和公司决策，并支持零供应和生物多样性损失承诺。我们将开发一个由金融机构，公司，民间社会和科学社区组成的多利益相关者网络，以综合信息差距，并共同创建框架和工具以进行尽职调查。我们还将通过使用地图和应用程序来促进对橡胶驱动的森林损失的免费和高分辨率监测。这些将基于我们最近开发的方法，用于以空前的空间和时间分辨率来绘制橡胶和森林损失，我们将扩展到全球覆盖范围。新的高分辨率数据还将与现有和开发的生物多样性指标相结合，以对生产景观中生物多样性风险最高的位置进行急需的评估。最后，我们将对橡胶供应链模型进行范围，以提高该行业的透明度。项目合作伙伴包括全球冠层，他们通过一致的问责制项目代表了11个金融机构；全球可持续天然橡胶的平台，其成员占全球天然橡胶量的50％以上；和森林管理委员会，他们开发了一系列监护橡胶认证。学术合作伙伴，斯德哥尔摩环境学院和皇家植物园爱丁堡，在遥感，生物多样性建模，生物多样性影响指标和商品供应链模型方面为丰富的经验提供了丰富的经验。合作伙伴结合在一起，具有可以改变天然橡胶市场的数据和杠杆作用，这是及时的，因为目前全球橡胶价格较低，预计将再次上涨。通过该试点项目获得的网络和知识将使我们能够扩展到存在可比信息需求和实施挑战的其他森林砍伐风险商品（第2阶段）。

项目成果

High-resolution maps show that rubber causes substantial deforestation.

• DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06642-z
• 发表时间: 2023-11
• 期刊: NATURE
• 影响因子: 64.8
• 作者: Wang, Yunxia;Hollingsworth, Peter M.;Zhai, Deli;West, Christopher D.;Green, Jonathan M. H.;Chen, Huafang;Hurni, Kaspar;Su, Yufang;Warren-Thomas, Eleanor;Xu, Jianchu;Ahrends, Antje
• 通讯作者: Ahrends, Antje