Abstract: This report summarizes the main outcomes of forest conservation initiatives adopted by global agro-food companies based on a systematic literature search and review. The study focusses on beef and leather, soybean, oil palm, coffee, and cocoa sectors which have the highest risk of being cultivated on areas that have been deforested. It looks at four categories of supply chain initiatives: collective aspirations, company pledges, codes of conduct, and standards. Based on the evidence available, it concludes that the effectiveness of company pledges for zero deforestation varies substantially across regions. Pledges in the Amazon designed within cattle value chains show positive results at the farm level for early adopters of the agreement; but those results are overshadowed by larger deforestation by late adopters and in other places. Pledges within palm oil value chains have not been effective in Indonesia. The High Conservation Value and High Carbon Stock approaches contribute to improved conservation outcomes because they enable protection of biodiversity and high carbon ecosystems, not just forests. Finally, it concludes that neither sanction based nor incentive based standards are effectively tackling deforestation among smallholders. More significantly, the review finds that there is no information on the conservation outcomes associated with existing collective aspirations or codes of conduct. In addition, in spite of the abundance of corporate pledges, there is very little evaluation of those efforts.

Recommended citation: Garrett, R. D., X. Rueda, S. A. Levy, J.F. Bermudez Blanco, S. Shah (2018). "Measuring impacts of supply chain initiatives for conservation: focus on forest-risk food commodities." Meridian Insitute. Washington, D.C. https://www.evidensia.eco/resources/273/measuring-impacts-of-supply-chain-initiatives-for-conservation-focus-on-forest-risk-food-commodities/

Criteria for Effective Zero-Deforestation Commitments

Published in Global Environmental Change, 2019

Abstract: Zero-deforestation commitments are a type of voluntary sustainability initiative that companies adopt to signal their intention to reduce or eliminate deforestation associated with commodities that they produce, trade, and/or sell. Because each company defines its own zero-deforestation commitment goals and implementation mechanisms, commitment content varies widely. This creates challenges for the assessment of commitment implementation or effectiveness. Here, we develop criteria to assess the potential effectiveness of zero-deforestation commitments at reducing deforestation within a company supply chain, regionally, and globally. We apply these criteria to evaluate 52 zero-deforestation commitments made by companies identified by Forest 500 as having high deforestation risk. While our assessment indicates that existing commitments converge with several criteria for effectiveness, they fall short in a few key ways. First, they cover just a small share of the global market for deforestation-risk commodities, which means that their global impact is likely to be small. Second, biome-wide implementation is only achieved in the Brazilian Amazon. Outside this region, implementation occurs mainly through certification programs, which are not adopted by all producers and lack third-party near-real time deforestation monitoring. Additionally, around half of all commitments include zero-net deforestation targets and future implementation deadlines, both of which are design elements that may reduce effectiveness. Zero-net targets allow promises of future reforestation to compensate for current forest loss, while future implementation deadlines allow for preemptive clearing. To increase the likelihood that commitments will lead to reduced deforestation across all scales, more companies should adopt zero-gross deforestation targets with immediate implementation deadlines and clear sanction-based implementation mechanisms in biomes with high risk of forest to commodity

Recommended citation: Garrett, R.D., S. Levy et al (2019). "Criteria for Effective Zero-Deforestation Commitments." Global Environmental Change. 54. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012220-010228

Have food supply chain policies improved forest conservation and rural livelihoods? A systematic review

Published in Environmental Research Letters, 2021

Abstract: To address concerns about the negative impacts of food supply chains in forest regions, a growing number of companies have adopted policies to influence their suppliers’ behaviors. With a focus on forest-risk food supply chains, we provide a systematic review of the conservation and livelihood outcomes of the mechanisms that companies use to implement their forest-focused supply chain policies (FSPs)—certifications, codes of conduct, and market exclusion mechanisms. More than half of the 37 cases that rigorously measure the outcomes of FSP implementation mechanisms find additional conservation and livelihood benefits resulting from the policies. Positive livelihood outcomes are more common than conservation additionality and most often pertain to improvements in farm income through increases in crop yields on coffee and cocoa farms that have adopted certifications or codes of conduct. However, in some cases certifications lead to a reduction in net household income as farmers increasingly specialize in the certified commodity and spend more on food purchases. Among the five cases that examine conservation and livelihoods simultaneously, there is no evidence of tradeoffs or synergies—most often an improvement in one type of outcome is associated with no change in the other. Interactions with public conservation and agricultural policies influence the conservation gains achieved by all mechanisms, while the marketing attributes of cooperatives and buying companies play a large role in determining the livelihood outcomes associated with certification. Compliance with the forest requirements of FSP implementation mechanisms is high, but challenges to geospatial monitoring and land use related selection biases limit the overall benefits of these policies. Given the highly variable methods and limited evidence base, additional rigorous research across a greater variety of contexts is urgently needed to better understand if and when FSPs can be successful in achieving synergies between conservation and livelihoods.

Recommended citation: Garrett, R. D.,S. A. Levy, F. Gollnow & X. Rueda (2021). "Have food supply chain policies improved forest conservation and rural livelihoods? A systematic review." Environmental Research Letters. 16. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe0ed

Forests and sustainable development in the Brazilian Amazon: History, trends and future prospects

Published in Annual Review of Environment and Resources, 2021

Abstract: Ongoing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is the outcome of an explicit federal project to occupy, integrate, and “modernize” the region. Although there have been isolated periods of deforestation control, most recently between 2004 and 2012, the overall trajectory of the region since the colonial period has been one of forest loss and degradation. Addressing this challenge is especially urgent in the context of adverse climate-ecology feedbacks and tipping points. Here we describe the trends and outcomes of deforestation and degradation in the Amazon. We then highlight how historical development paradigms and policies have helped to cement the land use activities and structural lock-ins that underpin deforestation and degradation. We emphasize how the grounds for establishing a more sustainable economy in the Amazon were never consolidated, leading to a situation where forest conservation and development remain dependent on external programs—punitive measures against deforestation and fire and public social programs. This situation makes progress toward a forest transition(arresting forest loss and degradation and restoring forest landscapes) highly vulnerable to changes in political leadership, private sector engagement, and global market signals. After summarizing these challenges, we present a suite of measures that collectively could be transformational to helping overcome destructive path dependencies in the region. These include innovations in agricultural management, improved forest governance through landscape approaches, developing a local forest economy, sustainable peri-urbanization, and the empowerment of women and youth. These initiatives must be inclusive and equitable, enabling the participation and empowerment of local communities, particularly indigenous groups who have faced numerous historical injustices and are increasingly under threat by current politics.

Recommended citation: Garrett, R. D., S. A. Levy, (2021). "Forests and sustainable devleopment in the Brazilian Amazon: History, trends and future prospects." Annual Review of Environment and Resources. 46:1. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-012220-010228

Effectiveness-equity tradeoffs in enforcing exclusionary supply chain policies: Lessons from the Amazonian cattle sector

Published in Journal of Cleaner Production, 2022

Abstract: To address ongoing deforestation for global food commodities production, companies and governments have adopted a range of forest-focused supply chain policies. In the Brazilian Amazon, these policies take the form of market exclusion mechanisms, i.e., immediately dropping suppliers who have cleared their land after a specific cut-off date. Theory suggests that strict exclusionary policies such as these are likely to result in both negative livelihood effects and reduced effectiveness of the policy if some farmers are not able to comply. It is proposed that a more cooperative model of enforcement that uses flexible and negotiated approaches to compliance management may enable more marginal and disadvantaged farmers to achieve compliance, thereby improving both the effectiveness of supply chain policies and their equity. Through our case study of cattle in the Brazilian Amazon, we examine the degree to which a purportedly cooperative supply chain policy exhibits coercive tendencies at different tiers and the degree to which these tendencies influence effectiveness and equity outcomes of the policy. We show that, surprisingly, even cooperative models of enforcement are prone to exhibit coercive tendencies in multi-tier supply chains, leading to severe equity shortcomings. We provide recommendations and a research agenda to mitigate effectiveness-equity tradeoffs in multi-tier, forest-focused supply chain policies in the aim to improve the design, adoption, and implementation of such policies.

Recommended citation: Cammelli, F., S. A. Levy, J. Grabs, J. Valentim & R.D. Garrett (2022). "Effectiveness-equity tradeoffs in enforcing exclusionary supply chain policies: Lessons from the Amazonian cattle sector." Journal of Cleaner Production. 332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.130031

Should Payments for Ecosystem Services be used to implement zero-deforestation supply chain policies? The case of soy in the Brazilian Cerrado

Published in World Development, 2022

Abstract: Over the past decade public and private actors have been developing a variety of new policy approaches for addressing agriculturally-driven deforestation linked to international supply chains. While payments for environmental services (PES) have been advocated in many contexts as an efficient and pro-poor environmental policy to incentivize conservation, they have been the subject of intense scrutiny and criticism for leading to mixed and sometimes adverse environmental and social outcomes. It remains unclear whether such an approach is an improvement over existing approaches to govern sustainability in supply chains and especially as a mechanism for reducing ecosystem conversion. Here we conduct an ex-ante analysis to examine the potential outcomes of using a standalone PES scheme versus existing standalone market exclusion mechanisms (MEM) to govern commodity supply chains. The analysis develops a theoretical framework to examine the potential effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, equity, and legitimacy of the two approaches and then applies this framework using qualitative analysis of secondary and interview data. Using this theory-driven evaluation approach we examine the case of the Brazilian Cerrado, where a PES mechanism is currently being proposed to achieve zero-deforestation targets in soy supply chains. We find that both standalone approaches suffer from different strengths and challenges and would be better used in combination. We conclude that a mixture of strict market exclusion with positive incentives and enabling programs that are targeted at the poorest farmers would be more effective, cost-effective, equitable, and legitimate. However, in the future such supply chain focused soy deforestation control efforts in the Cerrado must be complemented by broader jurisdictional approaches to addressing deforestation and sustainable development that include all land use actors, not just soy farmers. These more inclusive and balanced initiatives can help ensure that avoiding deforestation goes hand in hand with supporting sustainable livelihoods for a wider range of actors in the Cerrado.

Recommended citation: Garrett, R. D., J. Grabs, F. Cammelli, F. Gollnow, S.A. Levy (2022). "Should Payments for Ecosystem Services be used to implement zero-deforestation supply chain policies? The case of soy in the Brazilian Cerrado." World Development. 152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2022.105814

Designing effective and equitable zero-deforestation supply chain policies

Published in Global Environmental Change, 2022

Abstract: In response to the clearing of tropical forests for agricultural expansion, agri-food companies have adopted promises to eliminate deforestation from their supply chains in the form of ‘zero-deforestation commitments’ (ZDCs). While there is growing evidence about the environmental effectiveness of these commitments (i.e., whether they meet their conservation goals), there is little information on how they influence producers’ opportunity to access sustainable markets and related livelihood outcomes, or how design and implementation choices influence tradeoffs or potential synergies between effectiveness and equity in access. This paper explores these research gaps and makes three main contributions by: i) defining and justifying the importance of analyzing access equity and its relation to effectiveness when implementing forest-focused supply chain policies such as ZDCs, ii) identifying seven policy design principles that are likely to maximize synergies between effectiveness and access equity, and iii) assessing effectiveness-access equity tensions and synergies across common ZDC implementation mechanisms amongst the five largest firms in each of the leading agricultural forest-risk commodity sectors: palm oil, soybeans, beef cattle, and cocoa. To enhance forest conservation while avoiding harm to the most vulnerable farmers in the tropics, it is necessary to combine stringent rules with widespread capacity building, greater involvement of affected actors in the co-production of implementation mechanisms, and support for alternative rural development paths.

Recommended citation: Grabs, J., F. Cammelli, S.A. Levy & R. D. Garrett (2022). "Designing effective and equitable zero-deforestation supply chain policies." Global Environmental Change. 70. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102357

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon could be halved by scaling up the implementation of zero-deforestation cattle commitments

Published in Global Environmental Change, 2023

Abstract: Deforestation for agriculture is a key threat to global carbon stocks, biodiversity, and indigenous ways of life. In the absence of strong territorial governance, zero-deforestation commitments (ZDCs), corporate policies to decouple food production from deforestation, remain a central tool to combat this issue. Yet evidence on their effectiveness remains mixed and the mechanisms limiting effectiveness are poorly understood. To advance understanding of ZDCs’ potential at reducing deforestation, we developed the first spatially explicit estimates of farmers’ exposure to ZDC companies in the Brazilian Amazon cattle sector. Exposure was measured by determining the market share of ZDC firms from the first full year of ZDC adoption in 2010 until 2018. Our analysis evaluated how variation in this exposure influenced deforestation. We found the G4 Agreement, the most widespread and strongly implemented cattle ZDC, reduced cattle-driven deforestation by 7,000 ± 4,000 km² (15 ± 8%) between 2010 and 2018. Additionally, had all firms adopted and implemented an effective ZDC, cattle-driven deforestation could have dropped by 24,000 ± 13,000 km² (51 ± 28%). These results for the world’s principal deforestation hotspot suggests supply chain policies can substantially reduce deforestation. However, their effectiveness is contingent on widespread adoption and rigorous implementation, both of which are currently insufficient to prevent large scale deforestation. Increased adoption and implementation could be incentivized through greater pressure from the Brazilian government and import countries.

Recommended citation: S.A. Levy, F. Cammelli, J. Munger, H. K. Gibbs, R.D. Garrett (2023). "Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon could be halved by scaling up the implementation of zero-deforestation cattle commitments." Global Environmental Change. 80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102671

A systematic comparison of deforestation drivers and policy effectiveness across the Amazon biome

Published in Environmental Research Letters, 2023

Abstract: The Amazon biome, spanning nine countries, has one of the highest rates of deforestation worldwide. This deforestation contributes to biodiversity loss, climate change, the spread of infectious diseases, and damage to rural and indigenous livelihoods. Hundreds of articles have been published on the topic of deforestation across Amazonia, yet there has been no recent synthesis of deforestation drivers and deforestation-control policy effectiveness in the region. Here we undertook the first systematic review of papers published between 2000 to 2021 that have causally linked proximate and underlying drivers and policies to deforestation outcomes in Amazonia. In the 155 articles that met our inclusion criteria, we find that causal research is concentrated in Brazil, and to a lesser degree Peru, Ecuador, and Bolivia. There has been little study of the Guianas, Venezuela or Colombia. Large- and small-scale agriculture linked to improved market access and high agricultural prices are frequently researched proximate drivers of deforestation across the heavily researched regions. In the Guianas research focuses on mining with little focus on underlying causes. Research on infrastructure expansion, mining and oil extraction and on technological, sociocultural, and institutional factors remains sparse. Many public and private policies have been found to be effective in controlling deforestation across the biome, with protected areas standing out as particularly successful in slowing deforestation, vis-à-vis supply chain approaches. Our findings indicate a greater need for research on: i) additional deforestation drivers beyond agriculture and economic factors; ii) the complex interactions between different drivers and deforestation control policies; iii) causes underlying deforestation in low or new deforestation areas; and iv) the dynamics between Amazonian subregions and countries. Better understanding of all deforestation drivers and the effectiveness of existing deforestation mitigation policies is a prerequisite for completely halting deforestation in Amazonia.

Recommended citation: A. Hänggli, S.A. Levy, D. Armenteras Pascual, B. Bovolo, J. Brandao, X. Rueda , R.D. Garrett (2023). "A systematic comparison of deforestation drivers and policy effectiveness across the Amazon biome." Environmental Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/acd408

The challenge of commodity-centric governance in sacrifice frontiers: Evidence from the Brazilian Cerrado’s soy sector

Published in Geoforum, 2024

Abstract: Conservation governance is increasingly globalized, particularly supply chain polices implemented by multinational corporations. However, the ways that local elite narratives and power networks influence the design and implementation of policies is poorly understood. We examine the role that local agribusiness narratives have on producers’ resistance to supply chain policies through the concept of the “sacrifice frontier”. We theorize sacrifice frontiers are regions where reinforcing perceptions that conversion of native vegetation has high economic potential and low conservation importance combine with rapid processes of wealth and power consolidation by agribusiness interests. We posit that these dimensions of a sacrifice frontier make rapid land use change and ongoing social and ecological harm especially probable as they reinforce constraints on sustainability governance. Here, we build on existing theories of environmental sacrifice through the case of the Cerrado biome, Brazil’s most active deforestation frontier. We argue that in the Cerrado, and other sacrifice frontiers like it, interventions that seek to reduce native vegetation loss cannot rely on supply-chain led policies, but instead need to foster more territorial multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder discussions to alter the narrative of sociocultural and biodiversity sacrifice locally. We suggest this can be achieved by paying attention to local needs in a manner that is inclusive to all land users present within a targeted landscape.

Recommended citation: S.A. Levy, A.V. Nogueira Garik, R.D. Garrett (2024). "The challenge of commodity-centric governance in sacrifice frontiers: Evidence from the Brazilian Cerrado soy sector." Geoforum. 150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoforum.2024.103972

talks

Livelihood outcomes in smallholder schemes in Indonesian palm oil: An examination of recent policy reforms

Published: November 10, 2017

Link to recording of presentation

Community-company partnerships for smallholders: An examination of recent policy reforms, Indonesia

Published: December 07, 2018

Abstract: Oil palm is a globally important commodity, accounting for 38% of total vegetable oil production, yet it is highly controversial. It is linked to rural and national development in the countries that grow it, but also with increased greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, land grabbing and land conflict. In Indonesia, where 55% of world production occurs, palm oil is a major tool for advancing national development goals due to the high participation of smallholders in its production. A key vehicle for implementing palm oil as a development tool in Indonesia is the smallholder scheme – whereby smallholders are tied by contract to a central mill/plantation company, in theory ensuring guaranteed supply for the company and agricultural extension and inputs for smallholders. This project investigates the impacts of a major change in the smallholder-company relationship resulting from a 2006 legislative amendment that sought to reduce corporate risk from smallholder schemes by reducing smallholder interaction with the core plantation. I examine the impacts of this policy via an ethnographic analysis of three villages linked to one plantation in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. I find differences in the benefits obtained by smallholders as well as by village and identify smallholders’ pre-existing wealth and status as well as pre-existing village landholding as major factors for these differences. I conclude that although benefits vary across households and villages, they appear better than those suggested in other papers but that benefits may change over the course of the scheme as the benefits of secure tenure may not outweigh reduced monetary returns.

The Impacts of Zero-Deforestation Commitments on Deforestation & Slaughterhouse Siting Behaviours

Published: April 26, 2019

Abstract: Cattle are the leading driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, as well as one of the key commodities driving tropical deforestation globally. Despite inconclusive evidence, supply chain initiatives have been heralded as a critical way to decouple economic production from environmentally destructive practices both in the Amazon and elsewhere. In the Brazilian cattle sector, this primarily has taken the form of collective zero-deforestation commitments such as (e.g., the G4 Cattle Agreement). We use a novel methodological approach to determine whether these commitments have changed company behaviours location decisions or reduced deforestation in three Brazilian states, Rondônia, Mato Grosso and Pará, which collectively constituted 75% of the cattle herd of the Legal Amazon region. We quantified market exposure to zero deforestation commitments and associated reductions in deforestation by calculating the market share of committed slaughterhouses represent at the municipal level. This was paired with an analysis of the locations of new slaughterhouses by committed companies to identify if companies were avoiding expansion into regions with high deforestation risk. Our results show that companies who make zero-deforestation commitments are not avoiding deforestation hotspots, however a high municipal exposure to zero deforestation commitments is associated with reduced deforestation. We conclude that while commitments are not altering company decisions on where to expand, they are likely changing business practices and in turn resulting in reduced deforestation. However, for commitments to be impactful it requires a large percentage of the local market to be composed of committed companies, otherwise there continue to be ample opportunities for deforestation-intensive actors to avoid or otherwise evade the highly regulated supply chains is too greatcommitmentsted companies have made

Uma abordagem sistemática pantropical para estudar compromissos de desmatamento zero (A systematic approach to study zero-deforestation commitments across the tropics)

Published: October 14, 2019

Invited presentation to staff at NGO/think tank Imazon

How machine learning can help prevent commodity-driven deforestation

Published: April 28, 2020

Link to recording of presentation Link to slides

The role of market share on the effectiveness of zero deforestation commitments in the Brazilian Amazon

Published: May 14, 2020

Abstract: Sustainable supply chain policies aim to decouple food production from environmentally destructive practices, including via commitments to eliminate deforestation. Despite mixed evidence regarding their effectiveness, the adoption of these “zero-deforestation commitments” (ZDCs) has grown steadily, particularly in high deforestation-risk sectors like the Brazilian cattle industry. We provide the first spatially explicit estimates of the market share of ZDC cattle companies, using the three Brazilian states that collectively constitute 75% of the cattle herd and 80% of deforestation in the Legal Amazon region. We then evaluate the relationship between increases in market share and municipal-level deforestation to assess whether commitments are more effective where committed companies have higher market penetration. Our analysis shows that an increase in the market shares of companies with ZDCs is associated with lower municipal-level deforestation. These results indicate that the effectiveness of supply chain commitments in reducing deforestation is contingent on high participation rates, otherwise opportunities for producers to avoid or evade committed companies remain high

Livelihood outcomes in smallholder schemes in Indonesian palm oil: An examination of recent policy reforms” & “Quantifying the impact of indirect suppliers on the effectiveness of cattle zero deforestation commitments in Brazil

Published: September 14, 2020

Abstract presentation 1: Oil palm is a globally important, yet highly controversial commodity. Palm oil accounts for 38% of world vegetable oil production, is linked to rural and national development in the countries that grow it, but also to increased greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, land grabbing and land conflict. In Indonesia, where 55% of world production occurs, palm oil is a major tool for advancing rural development goals by promoting the participation of smallholders in its production. A key vehicle for implementing palm oil as a development tool in Indonesia is the smallholder scheme – whereby smallholders are tied by contract to a central mill/plantation company, in theory ensuring guaranteed supply for the company and agricultural extension and inputs for smallholders. This project examines the livelihood impacts of the “One-Roof Management” or Kemitraan Manajemen Satu Atap (KMSA) smallholder scheme system whereby the plantation company is able to manage both its landholding and that of the smallholder scheme with smallholders receiving only the dividends of production. This is a major change in the smallholder-company relationship resulting from a 2006 legislative change that sought to reduce corporate risk from smallholder schemes. We examine the impacts of these new contractual arrangements via an ethnographic analysis of three divergent villages linked to one plantation in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Our approach gives explicit attention to differences in livelihood outcomes at both village and sub-village levels. We find differences in the benefits obtained by smallholders and identifies smallholders’ pre-existing wealth and status, as well as village-level land holdings and leadership as critical reasons for these differences. We do not find extreme negative impacts others have found to result from KMSA systems. Instead, reductions in potential benefits (e.g. size of smallholding) appear to be offset by improved security of land tenure. However, we conclude by arguing that these relative benefits may change over the course of the scheme as the benefits of secure tenure may not outweigh reduced monetary returns. This case has relevance to wider debates on the role of private companies in development, because it presents a case of corporate-driven policy reform having some potentially beneficial livelihood outcomes relative to previous government-led schemes.

Discussing evidence on company policies for reducing commodity-driven forest loss

Published: December 08, 2020

Link to slides

The role of market share on the effectiveness of zero deforestation commitments

Published: May 28, 2021

Link to recording of presentation

A melhoria da sustentabilidade das cadeias de valor globais (Improving the Sustainability of Global Value Chains)

Published: August 03, 2021

Invited presentation to joint congress of the Brazilian Economics, Administration and Rural Sociology Society and 6th Meeting of Brazilian Researchers in Cooperativism. Presentation was delivered in Portuguese.

The Role of Market Share on the Effectiveness of ZDCs for Cattle

Published: November 25, 2021

Link to recording of presentation

The livelihood and environmental impacts of incomplete supply chain policy implementation in the Brazilian cattle sector

Published: October 09, 2022

Abstract: Spillovers of deforestation activities to untargeted actors and regions have the potential to greatly reduce the effectiveness of zero-deforestation supply chain commitments (ZDCs). Likewise, such spillovers create the potential of augmenting livelihood outcomes for marginalized groups. While understanding of the direct impacts of supply chain policies has increased, the degree to which FLARE FLARE 2022 ROMEdeforestation “leakage” occurs remains unclear due to methodological challenges and limited data availability. Focusing on the beef cattle sector, the largest driver of tropical deforestation globally, we use newly assembled temporally and spatially explicit property-level data on cattle sales and deforestation for the Brazilian state of Pará to better understand the processes leading to low ZDC effectiveness and local leakage, as well as the potential livelihood affects this might have. We find that incomplete adoption of ZDCs among cattle buyers allows producers to avoid ZDC policies and continue deforesting, accounting for 74% (450,273 ha) of the deforestation detected in our study. Yet laundering, whereby indirect suppliers to ZDC companies to whom ZDCs are not yet implemented continue to deforest and sell through “clean” direct suppliers is also linked to 96,311 ha of deforestation. This laundering appears to drive policy leakage, as direct suppliers of ZDC companies are significantly more likely to switch to an indirect ZDC supplier role after deforesting than direct ZDC suppliers who do not deforest. We find that these indirect suppliers linked to leakage processes are more likely to be small, more marginal producers, far from urban centers. These results suggest that enforcing ZDC requirements among indirect suppliers is critical to meet the direct goals of supply chain policies, yet will likely have negative livelihood impacts. Therefore, measures that seek to close leakage pathways and increase ZDC effectiveness should also include inclusive measures for the more marginal producers that would be disproportionately affected by these policies.

The role of Indigenous land tenure formalization for conservation in Indonesia

Published: March 25, 2023

Link to presentation recording

Governing agriculture-driven land cover change in the tropics

Published: March 25, 2023

Link to session recording

teaching

Teaching Assistant - Global Environmental Change & Sustainability

BA course, Boston University, 2018

Led group discussions and participated in classroom teaching as well as graded essays, problem sets and final papers for introductory geography class Global Environmental Change & Sustainability (CAS EE 100), a class of over 100 students

Supervision of master’s thesis on zero-deforestation commitments in Matopiba, Brazil

MS thesis, Boston University, 2019

Supervised Boston University master’s student’s honors thesis which used data collected in 2018 field season, incl. set a reading list along with weekly meetings to discuss each paper, assisted with the creation of research questions and provided comments and feedback on three drafts of thesis.

Guest Lecturer & Teaching Assistant - Policy & Economics of Ecosystem Services, ETH Zürich

MS course, ETH Zürich, 2020

Participated in teaching and group discussion, included lecturing on private environmental governance in a virtual (Zoom) class setting for the class “Policy & Economics of Ecosystem Services”, a masters-level class with 46 students.

Supervision of master’s thesis on climate resilience in the Eastern Amazon, Brazil

MS thesis, ETH Zürich, 2020

Supervised ETH Zurich master’s student’s thesis examining and comparing impacts of social policies and environmental practices on climate resilience. Role incl. setting a reading list, weekly supervision meetings, assisting the creation of research questions, reviewing R code and providing comments and feedback on thesis drafts.

Supervision of master’s thesis on systematically reviewing the drivers of deforestation across the Amazon basin

MS thesis, ETH Zürich, 2021

Supervised ETH Zurich master’s student’s thesis systematically reviewing the proximate and underlying drivers of deforestation across the entire Amazon basin, including an assessment of existing and historic policies and a cross-country comparison. Role incl. supervision meetings, assisting the creation of research questions, reviewing R code and providing comments and feedback on thesis drafts and theoretical framework

Workshop instructor - How to scrape a website

Workshop, ETH Zürich, 2021

Slides are available here

Guest lecturer - Introduction to Conservation Analysis

BA course, New York University, 2023

Recurring guest lecture for 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 academic years on non-state, market-driven conservation governance including 45 minute lecture and group discussion on findings of Levy et al. (2023) for Introduction to Conservation Analysis (ENVST-UA 320), a class of over 30 students

Sam A. Levy

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