WCF sets out a shared approach to protect forests, restore degraded land and strengthen sustainable cocoa through better data and coordinated action.
A shared approach to protecting intact forests, restoring degraded forests and supporting sustainable cocoa production
Protecting forests is essential to the future of cocoa. Effective action starts with knowing where we stand. High-quality data and robust monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) are essential to establishing credible baselines, understanding where deforestation begins, setting measurable goals and tracking progress. While these foundations are critical to informed action across cocoa landscapes, they are only the beginning. Tackling cocoa-driven deforestation requires more than identifying where forest loss occurs. It means addressing the pressures behind land-use decisions, supporting farmers to thrive on existing land, and building the systems needed to protect and restore forests over time.
Today, the World Cocoa Foundation is sharing its position on deforestation and forest restoration. The paper brings together WCF’s priorities for industry, governments and partners, and explains how the next phase of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative will support stronger data alongside coordinated action to deliver forest protection and restoration in cocoa growing areas.
The position rests on a clear principle: forest protection, restoration and sustainable production must advance together. Better data can show where risks and impacts are concentrated and help stakeholders understand whether interventions are delivering results. But data alone cannot change the underlying conditions that drive land-use decisions. Stronger forest governance and safeguards in cocoa-producing landscapes are vital. Lasting progress also depends on productive farms, secure land and tree rights, effective land use planning and opportunities for cocoa-growing households to build resilient incomes.
WCF calls for shared, reliable data and interoperable traceability systems that help companies meet due-diligence expectations while supporting government-led forest monitoring and land-use planning. It also calls for greater alignment on approaches to measuring forest protection, restoration and progress over time. For restoration, this means a more sustained approach to restoration—one that looks beyond the number of trees planted to whether they survive, deliver meaningful benefits, and whether restored landscapes can be maintained over time.
The next phase of the Cocoa & Forests Initiative will focus on both the foundations for credible measurement and the conditions that enable action at scale. Its work will support stronger national systems for forest protection and restoration, alongside more consistent ways to measure and report results.
No single company or sector can address the drivers of deforestation alone. WCF’s position sets out shared priorities for collective action with governments, farming communities and partners: keeping forests standing, restoring degraded land and making cocoa production more resilient.
Read WCF’s position paper on deforestation and forest restoration.
