
<p><strong>Stay atop the latest research and news! The Global Nature Watch blog uses data to illuminate the state of forests and other ecosystems worldwide and tells the stories of people dedicated to protecting them. Read about deforestation, fires, sustainable agriculture, management and other topics critical to the future of the world’s lands.</strong></p>


Global Nature Watch Blog

<p><strong>Stay atop the latest research and news! The Global Nature Watch blog uses data to illuminate the state of forests and other ecosystems worldwide and tells the stories of people dedicated to protecting them. Read about deforestation, fires, sustainable agriculture, management and other topics critical to the future of the world's lands.</strong></p>

Read about data-backed topics critical to the future of forests, including rainforests, deforestation, fires, sustainable agriculture, forest monitoring and management.

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Jessica Richter

Liz Goldman

Ruth Nogueron

<p>Forests remain under sustained pressure from agricultural expansion, infrastructure development and resource extraction, making it essential to understand where and why forests are changing and how to mitigate the impacts of changes driven by these activities. Satellite data has transformed our ability to monitor changes in forest cover, but understanding the activities directly driving these changes and whether they are authorized requires additional context.</p>



<p>To help provide this context, <a href="https://gfw.global/bStZUH">Global Nature Watch (GNW)</a>, formerly Global Forest Watch, recently updated our concession data. Concessions are government-issued licenses to companies or the public to manage public lands for defined activities. For some countries, the data provides information on who holds these rights, what type of activity is allowed, and for how long, helping us connect patterns of forest and other natural ecosystem change to the policies and industries shaping them. <a href="https://www.wri.org/research/logging-mining-and-agricultural-concessions-data-transparency-survey-14-forested-countries" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Open and accessible concession data</a> helps governments, NGOs and local communities see what may be driving land change and whether the change was authorized. This is the foundation for sound natural resource management and governance.</p>



<p>Since 2014, GNW has hosted map layers for five concession types that drive tree cover loss: logging, mining, oil palm, oil and gas, and wood fiber. These concession maps were last updated in 2021; however, over time, sources became outdated and better documentation was needed to track updates to these boundaries.</p>



<p>Now, we’ve updated the five concession map layers by adding 34 million hectares — equivalent to the size of the Republic of the Congo — of new or updated boundaries across 12 countries, as well as adding improved attribution and documentation. The updated maps allow users to better monitor the impacts of commodity demands on our world’s forests, help stakeholders avoid conflicting land use allocations and support community-led monitoring.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="844" src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/gnw_concessions.png" alt="" class="wp-image-20608" style="aspect-ratio:1.7772511848341233;width:840px;height:auto" srcset="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/gnw_concessions.png 1500w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/gnw_concessions-1024x576.png 1024w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/gnw_concessions-768x432.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<style>
.css-19vc5o2 aside {
   width: 100% !important;
float: none !important;
margin-left:
0px
!important;
}
</style>
<aside id="textbox"><em><b>What are the different types of concessions?</b></em><p></p>
GNW hosts five concession types:
<li>Logging concessions: Areas allocated by governments for commercial timber production.</li>
<li>Mining concessions: Areas allocated by governments for the extraction of minerals.</li>
<li>Oil palm concessions: Areas allocated by governments for oil palm plantations.</li>
<li>Oil and gas concessions: Areas allocated by governments for the exploration of oil, gas, and other hydrocarbons.</li>
<li>Wood fiber concessions: Areas allocated by governments for tree plantations used in the production of wood pulp to derive paper and paper products.</li><br>
Note that other concession types exist, such as conservation, tourism, wildlife management and more, and can be explored in other datasets on GNW such as the <a href="https://gfw.global/artHwh">World Database of Protected Areas</a> or individual country concession layers (see Peru and Cambodia).
</a>
</em> </aside>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s new with the GNW concessions data?</h2>



<p>The five concession map layers were originally launched on GNW in 2014, and were created by consolidating national concession boundaries into a single dataset per type of concession. Boundaries were sourced by searching government websites as well as websites of other NGOs that compile and/or host concession data. We focused our search within priority geographies for tropical forest conservation but opportunistically included data outside of these geographies where it was easily accessible. The sources often included key attributes — such as the company name or entity, status and source — that we retained in the map layers.</p>



<p><a></a>The latest update, completed in 2025, includes a significant refresh that updated or added concession data across a total of 12 countries (see map below), with source dates up to 2025. This refresh added 34 million hectares of allocated concession lands across all five layers and brings the total coverage to 21 countries. The attributes — additional details for each concession — were also standardized and expanded to ensure all concession layers include the following, as available:</p>



<ul>
<li>Type of legal contract being executed (e.g., exploration permit, exploitation license)</li>



<li>Contract IDs or permit numbers</li>



<li>Parent company or corporate group associated with the concession holder</li>



<li>Date the concession begins and ends</li>
</ul>



<div class="flourish-embed flourish-map" data-src="visualisation/30497056?163031"><script src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/embed.js"></script><noscript><img decoding="async" src="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/30497056/thumbnail" width="100%" alt="map visualization" /></noscript></div>



<p>Attributes specific to the concession type, such as block numbers in oil and gas concessions, are also included. Each attribute name is standardized across all five layers to help users compile this information across concession type, and each download file includes an attribute key.</p>



<p>Source documentation is now also linked in each respective metadata page along with the year the source was last updated.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How can the updated data be used?</h2>



<p>Open and accessible concession data supports forest monitoring and management by making boundaries visible and verifiable. The data provides supportive evidence that civil society groups, journalists, law enforcement agencies and due diligence processes need to hold actors accountable for environmental impacts within and around concession areas and enables participation by these groups in compliance monitoring.</p>



<p>This is particularly relevant under the <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/explain-eu-deforestation-regulation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)</a>, which requires companies to trace regulated commodities back to the plot of land where they were produced and confirm production didn’t cause deforestation after 2020. While concession data alone cannot prove illegality, it can be used alongside other information, such as permits or management plans, to build a robust evidence base.</p>



<p>Additionally, the data supports better land-use planning, particularly at the national level, by helping governments create one comprehensive land-use map that incorporates concessions and other land-use layers across different ministries. This helps both governments and other stakeholders avoid conflicting land uses and land claims.</p>



<p>However, it is important to note the limitations of the concession maps:</p>



<ul>
<li>They do not indicate whether a land allocation was legally obtained, nor if the activities within it comply with other relevant laws and regulations.</li>



<li>They do not indicate if an allocation is free of land use conflicts, such as overlaps with other allocated land uses including protected areas or Indigenous land claims.</li>



<li>They do not guarantee that the land is actively being used for a designated activity.</li>



<li>The data can include imprecise boundaries, and coverage can be uneven across countries and commodity types.</li>



<li>The status of concessions can change quickly (e.g., from active to non-active), and it may take time for these changes to be reflected within official sources (note that inactive or expired concessions, as defined by the source, are excluded from concession layers on GNW).</li>



<li>On GNW specifically, concession extent is limited to prioritized geographies and where spatial data is publicly available, and therefore it does not include coverage across every country.</li>



<li>Not all map sources included have been provided or approved by a government entity. The compiled maps are our best assessment of concession extent using both government and non-government sources.</li>
</ul>



<p>This underpins the importance of using concession data alongside other supporting information such as permits, court decisions, satellite imagery or field verification, particularly in cases of enforcement.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Examples of concession data in action</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><em>Verifying causes of deforestation alerts in Indonesia</em></h3>



<p>The <a href="https://wri-indonesia.org/en/initiatives/landscape-monitoring-initiative" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Landscape Monitoring Initiative</a> was a collaborative project led by WRI Indonesia aimed at advancing forest monitoring and deforestation interventions across three Indonesian provinces. In this project, <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-tools/radd-radar-alerts/">radar-based deforestation (RADD) alerts</a> were monitored and investigated across pilot jurisdictions to better understand where and why forest loss was occurring. Concession holders were responsible for monitoring and verifying activities within their respective areas by intersecting RADD alerts with their own concession boundaries.</p>



<p>In Bulungan Regency, one of the pilot jurisdictions, RADD alerts were identified within logging concessions. While some tree cover loss is expected from the concession holder’s authorized operations, additional verification is needed to confirm whether the loss is indeed part of the operations or due to other drivers. During the verification process, some alerts within the logging concessions were found to be driven by communities practicing shifting cultivation or permanent agriculture, rather than by the concession holder’s operations. This information allowed the Forest Management Unit to take appropriate action, including notifying the village administration of the loss and socializing relevant forest area management policies.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="844" src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/gnw_bulungan.png" alt="" class="wp-image-20620" srcset="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/gnw_bulungan.png 1500w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/gnw_bulungan-1024x576.png 1024w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/gnw_bulungan-768x432.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><em>Assessing concession impacts on Saamaka land rights in Suriname</em></h3>



<p>The Saamaka are an Afro-descendent tribal community living in Suriname’s Amazonian rainforest. In 2007, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the government of Suriname must <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/indigenous-peoples-local-communities-use-satellite-data-deforestation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recognize the traditional land rights</a> of the Saamaka and other Indigenous and community groups, requiring their approval for future projects on their lands.</p>



<p>In 2023, a logging company began bulldozing a road through the Saamaka’s forest. The development of the road was sanctioned within a logging concession by the government but did not have the Saamaka’s approval. The community used <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/indigenous-peoples-local-communities-use-satellite-data-deforestation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">logging concession data on GNW to gather evidence</a> that tree cover loss was increasing in their lands since 2007, driven by logging and mining activities. They found that tree cover loss inside government-granted logging concessions in and surrounding their territory totaled 44,700 hectares, or a 5.5% loss in tree cover from 2001-2022.</p>



<div class="flourish-embed flourish-chart" data-src="visualisation/30355890?163031"><script src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/embed.js"></script><noscript><img decoding="async" src="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/30355890/thumbnail" width="100%" alt="chart visualization" /></noscript></div>



<p>Representatives from the Saamaka territory and other Indigenous and local communities in Suriname brought this data to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in November 2023 as supportive evidence for reopening the case against the Suriname government and strengthening the traditional land rights afforded to them 16 years prior.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Where can I find the concession data and what’s next?</h2>



<p>Users can access the concession layers on the <a href="https://datasets.wri.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Nature Watch map</a> and on the <a href="https://datasets.wri.org/">WRI Data Explorer</a>. Concession boundaries can be analyzed on-the-fly alongside key forest monitoring datasets, and users can download each concession type layer for further use.</p>



<p>Going forward, we plan to update the concessions data annually to ensure GNW continues to offer the most up-to-date concession boundaries available. Concessions are currently available across 21 countries, but efforts will continue to expand coverage, particularly in primary tropical forest countries such as Bolivia, Ghana, Myanmar, Nigeria, Paraguay, Thailand and Vietnam.</p>



<p>In the future, concession layers will also be made available on <a href="https://horizon.globalnaturewatch.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Horizon, GNW’s AI-enabled platform currently in preview</a>, further promoting open data access and expanding analysis capabilities.</p>



<style type="text/css"></style>

GNW Extends Forest Concession Coverage by 34 Million Hectares, Adding Important Context to Forest Monitoring

<p>Forests remain under sustained pressure from agricultural expansion, infrastructure development and resource extraction, making it essential to understand where and why forests are changing and how to mitigate the impacts of changes driven by these activities. Satellite data has transformed our ability to monitor changes in forest cover, but understanding the activities directly driving these changes and whether they are authorized requires additional context.</p>



<p>To help provide this context, <a href="https://gfw.global/bStZUH">Global Nature Watch (GNW)</a>, formerly Global Forest Watch, recently updated our concession data. Concessions are government-issued licenses to companies or the public to manage public lands for defined activities. For some countries, the data provides information on who holds these rights, what type of activity is allowed, and for how long, helping us connect patterns of forest and other natural ecosystem change to the policies and industries shaping them. <a href="https://www.wri.org/research/logging-mining-and-agricultural-concessions-data-transparency-survey-14-forested-countries" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Open and accessible concession data</a> helps governments, NGOs and local communities see what may be driving land change and whether the change was authorized. This is the foundation for sound natural resource management and governance.</p>



<p>Since 2014, GNW has hosted map layers for five concession types that drive tree cover loss: logging, mining, oil palm, oil and gas, and wood fiber. These concession maps were last updated in 2021; however, over time, sources became outdated and better documentation was needed to track updates to these boundaries.</p>



<p>Now, we’ve updated the five concession map layers by adding 34 million hectares — equivalent to the size of the Republic of the Congo — of new or updated boundaries across 12 countries, as well as adding improved attribution and documentation. The updated maps allow users to better monitor the impacts of commodity demands on our world's forests, help stakeholders avoid conflicting land use allocations and support community-led monitoring.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><img src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/gnw_concessions.png" alt="" class="wp-image-20608" style="aspect-ratio:1.7772511848341233;width:840px;height:auto"/></figure>



<style>
.css-19vc5o2 aside {
   width: 100% !important;
float: none !important;
margin-left:
0px
!important;
}
</style>
<aside id="textbox"><em><b>What are the different types of concessions?</b></em><p></p>
GNW hosts five concession types:
<li>Logging concessions: Areas allocated by governments for commercial timber production.</li>
<li>Mining concessions: Areas allocated by governments for the extraction of minerals.</li>
<li>Oil palm concessions: Areas allocated by governments for oil palm plantations.</li>
<li>Oil and gas concessions: Areas allocated by governments for the exploration of oil, gas, and other hydrocarbons.</li>
<li>Wood fiber concessions: Areas allocated by governments for tree plantations used in the production of wood pulp to derive paper and paper products.</li><br>
Note that other concession types exist, such as conservation, tourism, wildlife management and more, and can be explored in other datasets on GNW such as the <a href="https://gfw.global/artHwh">World Database of Protected Areas</a> or individual country concession layers (see Peru and Cambodia).
</a>
</em> </aside>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What’s new with the GNW concessions data?</h2>



<p>The five concession map layers were originally launched on GNW in 2014, and were created by consolidating national concession boundaries into a single dataset per type of concession. Boundaries were sourced by searching government websites as well as websites of other NGOs that compile and/or host concession data. We focused our search within priority geographies for tropical forest conservation but opportunistically included data outside of these geographies where it was easily accessible. The sources often included key attributes — such as the company name or entity, status and source — that we retained in the map layers.</p>



<p><a></a>The latest update, completed in 2025, includes a significant refresh that updated or added concession data across a total of 12 countries (see map below), with source dates up to 2025. This refresh added 34 million hectares of allocated concession lands across all five layers and brings the total coverage to 21 countries. The attributes — additional details for each concession — were also standardized and expanded to ensure all concession layers include the following, as available:</p>



<ul>
<li>Type of legal contract being executed (e.g., exploration permit, exploitation license)</li>



<li>Contract IDs or permit numbers</li>



<li>Parent company or corporate group associated with the concession holder</li>



<li>Date the concession begins and ends</li>
</ul>



<div class="flourish-embed flourish-map" data-src="visualisation/30497056?163031"><script src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/embed.js"></script><noscript><img src="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/30497056/thumbnail" width="100%" alt="map visualization" /></noscript></div>



<p>Attributes specific to the concession type, such as block numbers in oil and gas concessions, are also included. Each attribute name is standardized across all five layers to help users compile this information across concession type, and each download file includes an attribute key.</p>



<p>Source documentation is now also linked in each respective metadata page along with the year the source was last updated.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">How can the updated data be used?</h2>



<p>Open and accessible concession data supports forest monitoring and management by making boundaries visible and verifiable. The data provides supportive evidence that civil society groups, journalists, law enforcement agencies and due diligence processes need to hold actors accountable for environmental impacts within and around concession areas and enables participation by these groups in compliance monitoring.</p>



<p>This is particularly relevant under the <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/explain-eu-deforestation-regulation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR)</a>, which requires companies to trace regulated commodities back to the plot of land where they were produced and confirm production didn't cause deforestation after 2020. While concession data alone cannot prove illegality, it can be used alongside other information, such as permits or management plans, to build a robust evidence base.</p>



<p>Additionally, the data supports better land-use planning, particularly at the national level, by helping governments create one comprehensive land-use map that incorporates concessions and other land-use layers across different ministries. This helps both governments and other stakeholders avoid conflicting land uses and land claims.</p>



<p>However, it is important to note the limitations of the concession maps:</p>



<ul>
<li>They do not indicate whether a land allocation was legally obtained, nor if the activities within it comply with other relevant laws and regulations.</li>



<li>They do not indicate if an allocation is free of land use conflicts, such as overlaps with other allocated land uses including protected areas or Indigenous land claims.</li>



<li>They do not guarantee that the land is actively being used for a designated activity.</li>



<li>The data can include imprecise boundaries, and coverage can be uneven across countries and commodity types.</li>



<li>The status of concessions can change quickly (e.g., from active to non-active), and it may take time for these changes to be reflected within official sources (note that inactive or expired concessions, as defined by the source, are excluded from concession layers on GNW).</li>



<li>On GNW specifically, concession extent is limited to prioritized geographies and where spatial data is publicly available, and therefore it does not include coverage across every country.</li>



<li>Not all map sources included have been provided or approved by a government entity. The compiled maps are our best assessment of concession extent using both government and non-government sources.</li>
</ul>



<p>This underpins the importance of using concession data alongside other supporting information such as permits, court decisions, satellite imagery or field verification, particularly in cases of enforcement.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Examples of concession data in action</h2>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><em>Verifying causes of deforestation alerts in Indonesia</em></h3>



<p>The <a href="https://wri-indonesia.org/en/initiatives/landscape-monitoring-initiative" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Landscape Monitoring Initiative</a> was a collaborative project led by WRI Indonesia aimed at advancing forest monitoring and deforestation interventions across three Indonesian provinces. In this project, <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-tools/radd-radar-alerts/">radar-based deforestation (RADD) alerts</a> were monitored and investigated across pilot jurisdictions to better understand where and why forest loss was occurring. Concession holders were responsible for monitoring and verifying activities within their respective areas by intersecting RADD alerts with their own concession boundaries.</p>



<p>In Bulungan Regency, one of the pilot jurisdictions, RADD alerts were identified within logging concessions. While some tree cover loss is expected from the concession holder’s authorized operations, additional verification is needed to confirm whether the loss is indeed part of the operations or due to other drivers. During the verification process, some alerts within the logging concessions were found to be driven by communities practicing shifting cultivation or permanent agriculture, rather than by the concession holder’s operations. This information allowed the Forest Management Unit to take appropriate action, including notifying the village administration of the loss and socializing relevant forest area management policies.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/gnw_bulungan.png" alt="" class="wp-image-20620"/></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><em>Assessing concession impacts on Saamaka land rights in Suriname</em></h3>



<p>The Saamaka are an Afro-descendent tribal community living in Suriname’s Amazonian rainforest. In 2007, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that the government of Suriname must <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/indigenous-peoples-local-communities-use-satellite-data-deforestation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recognize the traditional land rights</a> of the Saamaka and other Indigenous and community groups, requiring their approval for future projects on their lands.</p>



<p>In 2023, a logging company began bulldozing a road through the Saamaka’s forest. The development of the road was sanctioned within a logging concession by the government but did not have the Saamaka’s approval. The community used <a href="https://www.wri.org/insights/indigenous-peoples-local-communities-use-satellite-data-deforestation" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">logging concession data on GNW to gather evidence</a> that tree cover loss was increasing in their lands since 2007, driven by logging and mining activities. They found that tree cover loss inside government-granted logging concessions in and surrounding their territory totaled 44,700 hectares, or a 5.5% loss in tree cover from 2001-2022.</p>



<div class="flourish-embed flourish-chart" data-src="visualisation/30355890?163031"><script src="https://public.flourish.studio/resources/embed.js"></script><noscript><img src="https://public.flourish.studio/visualisation/30355890/thumbnail" width="100%" alt="chart visualization" /></noscript></div>



<p>Representatives from the Saamaka territory and other Indigenous and local communities in Suriname brought this data to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in November 2023 as supportive evidence for reopening the case against the Suriname government and strengthening the traditional land rights afforded to them 16 years prior.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Where can I find the concession data and what’s next?</h2>



<p>Users can access the concession layers on the <a href="https://datasets.wri.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Nature Watch map</a> and on the <a href="https://datasets.wri.org/">WRI Data Explorer</a>. Concession boundaries can be analyzed on-the-fly alongside key forest monitoring datasets, and users can download each concession type layer for further use.</p>



<p>Going forward, we plan to update the concessions data annually to ensure GNW continues to offer the most up-to-date concession boundaries available. Concessions are currently available across 21 countries, but efforts will continue to expand coverage, particularly in primary tropical forest countries such as Bolivia, Ghana, Myanmar, Nigeria, Paraguay, Thailand and Vietnam.</p>



<p>In the future, concession layers will also be made available on <a href="https://horizon.globalnaturewatch.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Horizon, GNW’s AI-enabled platform currently in preview</a>, further promoting open data access and expanding analysis capabilities.</p>



<style type="text/css"></style>

Updated concessions map layers on GNW allow users to better monitor the impacts of commodity demands on our world's forests.

Comment

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<p>Cocoa production has been linked to high rates of deforestation and biodiversity loss, making it a significant contributor to environmental degradation. Addressing and mitigating these negative impacts is essential for achieving a more sustainable cocoa supply chain.</p>



<p>ECOM, one of the world’s largest cocoa traders and processors that sources from over 30 countries, has made it a priority to reduce the negative impacts from their operations. One way they are doing so is by applying a standardized methodology developed by World Resources Institute (WRI) to ensure the cocoa beans they use are sustainably sourced and are not linked to forest loss.</p>



<p>Recognizing that collective action is critical to ending deforestation and no one company can tackle the problem alone, ECOM joined the <a href="https://worldcocoafoundation.org/programmes-and-initiatives/cocoa-and-forests-initiative" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cocoa & Forests Initiative</a> (CFI), facilitated by the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), and established in 2017 with the aim of ending cocoa-driven deforestation and restoring forest areas. Companies that joined the CFI agreed to map their supply chains, align methodologies on deforestation risk assessment and contribute to transparent monitoring and reporting.</p>



<p>To support these efforts, World Resources Institute (WRI) partnered with WCF and 19 major cocoa and chocolate companies to create <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-tools/data-resources-ending-deforestation-cocoa-west-africa/">two data-driven resources</a> available on GFW — the <a href="https://gfw.global/4bEEES2">West Africa Cocoa dataset</a> and the <a href="https://data.globalforestwatch.org/documents/gfw::cocoa-deforestation-risk-assessment/about">Cocoa Deforestation Risk Assessment (DRA)</a> — that ECOM has adapted and scaled to additional regions to secure a more sustainable cocoa supply chain.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1430" height="868" src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Cocoa-Deforestation-Risk-Assessment-Priority-2023.png" alt="" class="wp-image-16731" srcset="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Cocoa-Deforestation-Risk-Assessment-Priority-2023.png 1430w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Cocoa-Deforestation-Risk-Assessment-Priority-2023-1024x622.png 1024w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Cocoa-Deforestation-Risk-Assessment-Priority-2023-768x466.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1430px) 100vw, 1430px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Proactively identifying deforestation risk in cocoa supply chains</h2>



<p>Prior to the Cocoa DRA, ECOM relied on broader, less tailored tools such as national level risk assessments or global data sets like the ones available on GFW. With the release of the Cocoa DRA, ECOM was able to adapt <a href="https://www.wri.org/research/mapping-cocoa-assessing-deforestation-risk-cocoa-cote-divoire-ghana" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">its methodology</a> to carry out widespread risk assessment in a standardized manner, expanding the model to other geographies and analyzing data from Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Nigeria, Peru, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Vietnam and Uganda.</p>



<p>The flexibility of the Cocoa DRA has enabled ECOM to leverage global data and peer-reviewed methods while supplementing these with their own farm boundary data and ground verification (which is an essential component of cocoa monitoring since satellites can have trouble detecting cocoa grown under shade canopies).</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="602" height="205" src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Picture1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-18569"/></figure>



<p>Once high-risk areas have been identified, ECOM works with smallholder farmers to proactively tackle cocoa-linked deforestation, focusing on prevention through strategies like sensitization training or Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs. The focus on high-risk locations enables further engagement with farmers and remediation to avoid excluding them from the supply chain, which can lead to worse outcomes and accelerate deforestation.</p>



<p>For example, since 2021, ECOM has partnered with a customer and local farming communities in Ghana to promote agroforestry through a PES initiative. The program provides farmers with multi-purpose shade trees, and farmers receive financial incentives for maintaining these trees over three years, boosting adoption rates. To ensure the program’s success and its meaningful contributions to local biodiversity and ecosystem health, ECOM conducted comprehensive land assessments prior to implementation. These assessments identified suitable tree species and accounted for farmers’ needs. The initiative includes training in Good Agricultural Practices, environmental stewardship and business management. A progress report due later in 2025 will highlight its impact on biodiversity and ecosystem health.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2048" height="1363" src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Ghana-SourceTrust-1-2048x1363.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-18570" srcset="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Ghana-SourceTrust-1-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Ghana-SourceTrust-1-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Ghana-SourceTrust-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Ghana-SourceTrust-1-1536x1022.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: ECOM</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Beyond regulatory compliance</h2>



<p>As the cocoa sector is focused on preparing for compliance with regulations like the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), it is crucial to recognize the continued importance of solutions and approaches that go beyond near-term compliance needs to effectively address sector-wide, systemic challenges.<strong></strong></p>



<p>While regulatory compliance assessments are focused on whether deforestation risk occurred after a given cut-off date, they often do not help identify future deforestation risk or inform collective action. The Cocoa DRA is intended to support better allocation of resources for halting deforestation and to enable collaborative approaches among cocoa supply chain actors where they’re most urgently needed to address deforestation.</p>



<p>For example, in Côte d’Ivoire, ECOM is using information gained from the Cocoa DRA to inform multiple efforts aiming to protect forests and support sustainability. In one project, they’re collaborating with the <a href="https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/32209.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Green Innovation Centre of GIZ</a>, the German Corporation for International Cooperation, to provide training and awareness-raising to help farmers adapt to climate change, build resilience and increase incomes through climate-smart cocoa and agroforestry. Around the protected areas of the Bossematié Nature Reserve and the Beki Classified Forest, ECOM is working to tackle deforestation and improve conservation by helping farmers in the forest buffer zone transition to agroforestry. They collaborated with GIZ to develop a management plan for the Reserve’s buffer zone and are now developing an incentive scheme based on carbon stocks and additional planting of trees for promoting agroforestry practices.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2048" height="1365" src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Cote-dIvoire-Daloa-2048x1365.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-18571" srcset="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Cote-dIvoire-Daloa-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Cote-dIvoire-Daloa-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Cote-dIvoire-Daloa-768x512.jpg 768w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Cote-dIvoire-Daloa-1536x1024.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: ECOM</figcaption></figure>



<p>Additionally, two briquette production units are being installed within two of ECOM’s partner cooperatives to promote the use of sustainable briquettes made from organic waste. This initiative aims to reduce reliance on firewood to help prevent deforestation.</p>



<p>Finally, ECOM is also supporting local nurseries to develop plants for on- and off-farm planting and distributing trees to further accelerate the transition to agroforestry. This will all be supported by a local plan to monitor and prevent deforestation. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="2048" height="1356" src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Peru-Forestry-2048x1356.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-18572" srcset="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Peru-Forestry-2048x1356.jpg 2048w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Peru-Forestry-1024x678.jpg 1024w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Peru-Forestry-768x509.jpg 768w, https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Peru-Forestry-1536x1017.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2048px) 100vw, 2048px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: ECOM</figcaption></figure>



<p>Using the Cocoa DRA and complementary data and tools, ECOM will continue ongoing monitoring efforts aimed at identifying and preventing future deforestation. This is a great step in the right direction, but ultimately, companies like ECOM need more solutions that can encourage collaborative approaches and continued innovation that prioritizes the needs of cocoa farmers and their communities. Only then can we truly achieve deforestation-free supply chains.</p>



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Better Cocoa for the Planet: How ECOM is Reducing Deforestation in Their Supply Chain

<p>Cocoa production has been linked to high rates of deforestation and biodiversity loss, making it a significant contributor to environmental degradation. Addressing and mitigating these negative impacts is essential for achieving a more sustainable cocoa supply chain.</p>



<p>ECOM, one of the world’s largest cocoa traders and processors that sources from over 30 countries, has made it a priority to reduce the negative impacts from their operations. One way they are doing so is by applying a standardized methodology developed by World Resources Institute (WRI) to ensure the cocoa beans they use are sustainably sourced and are not linked to forest loss.</p>



<p>Recognizing that collective action is critical to ending deforestation and no one company can tackle the problem alone, ECOM joined the <a href="https://worldcocoafoundation.org/programmes-and-initiatives/cocoa-and-forests-initiative" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cocoa &amp; Forests Initiative</a> (CFI), facilitated by the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH), and established in 2017 with the aim of ending cocoa-driven deforestation and restoring forest areas. Companies that joined the CFI agreed to map their supply chains, align methodologies on deforestation risk assessment and contribute to transparent monitoring and reporting.</p>



<p>To support these efforts, World Resources Institute (WRI) partnered with WCF and 19 major cocoa and chocolate companies to create <a href="https://www.globalforestwatch.org/blog/data-and-tools/data-resources-ending-deforestation-cocoa-west-africa/">two data-driven resources</a> available on GFW — the <a href="https://gfw.global/4bEEES2">West Africa Cocoa dataset</a> and the <a href="https://data.globalforestwatch.org/documents/gfw::cocoa-deforestation-risk-assessment/about">Cocoa Deforestation Risk Assessment (DRA)</a> — that ECOM has adapted and scaled to additional regions to secure a more sustainable cocoa supply chain.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Cocoa-Deforestation-Risk-Assessment-Priority-2023.png" alt="" class="wp-image-16731"/></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Proactively identifying deforestation risk in cocoa supply chains</h2>



<p>Prior to the Cocoa DRA, ECOM relied on broader, less tailored tools such as national level risk assessments or global data sets like the ones available on GFW. With the release of the Cocoa DRA, ECOM was able to adapt <a href="https://www.wri.org/research/mapping-cocoa-assessing-deforestation-risk-cocoa-cote-divoire-ghana" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">its methodology</a> to carry out widespread risk assessment in a standardized manner, expanding the model to other geographies and analyzing data from Cameroon, Colombia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Ghana, Nigeria, Peru, Mexico, Nicaragua, Sierra Leone, Vietnam and Uganda.</p>



<p>The flexibility of the Cocoa DRA has enabled ECOM to leverage global data and peer-reviewed methods while supplementing these with their own farm boundary data and ground verification (which is an essential component of cocoa monitoring since satellites can have trouble detecting cocoa grown under shade canopies).</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Picture1.png" alt="" class="wp-image-18569"/></figure>



<p>Once high-risk areas have been identified, ECOM works with smallholder farmers to proactively tackle cocoa-linked deforestation, focusing on prevention through strategies like sensitization training or Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) programs. The focus on high-risk locations enables further engagement with farmers and remediation to avoid excluding them from the supply chain, which can lead to worse outcomes and accelerate deforestation.</p>



<p>For example, since 2021, ECOM has partnered with a customer and local farming communities in Ghana to promote agroforestry through a PES initiative. The program provides farmers with multi-purpose shade trees, and farmers receive financial incentives for maintaining these trees over three years, boosting adoption rates. To ensure the program's success and its meaningful contributions to local biodiversity and ecosystem health, ECOM conducted comprehensive land assessments prior to implementation. These assessments identified suitable tree species and accounted for farmers’ needs. The initiative includes training in Good Agricultural Practices, environmental stewardship and business management. A progress report due later in 2025 will highlight its impact on biodiversity and ecosystem health.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Ghana-SourceTrust-1-2048x1363.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-18570"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: ECOM</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Beyond regulatory compliance</h2>



<p>As the cocoa sector is focused on preparing for compliance with regulations like the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), it is crucial to recognize the continued importance of solutions and approaches that go beyond near-term compliance needs to effectively address sector-wide, systemic challenges.<strong></strong></p>



<p>While regulatory compliance assessments are focused on whether deforestation risk occurred after a given cut-off date, they often do not help identify future deforestation risk or inform collective action. The Cocoa DRA is intended to support better allocation of resources for halting deforestation and to enable collaborative approaches among cocoa supply chain actors where they’re most urgently needed to address deforestation.</p>



<p>For example, in Côte d’Ivoire, ECOM is using information gained from the Cocoa DRA to inform multiple efforts aiming to protect forests and support sustainability. In one project, they’re collaborating with the <a href="https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/32209.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Green Innovation Centre of GIZ</a>, the German Corporation for International Cooperation, to provide training and awareness-raising to help farmers adapt to climate change, build resilience and increase incomes through climate-smart cocoa and agroforestry. Around the protected areas of the Bossematié Nature Reserve and the Beki Classified Forest, ECOM is working to tackle deforestation and improve conservation by helping farmers in the forest buffer zone transition to agroforestry. They collaborated with GIZ to develop a management plan for the Reserve’s buffer zone and are now developing an incentive scheme based on carbon stocks and additional planting of trees for promoting agroforestry practices.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Cote-dIvoire-Daloa-2048x1365.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-18571"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: ECOM</figcaption></figure>



<p>Additionally, two briquette production units are being installed within two of ECOM’s partner cooperatives to promote the use of sustainable briquettes made from organic waste. This initiative aims to reduce reliance on firewood to help prevent deforestation.</p>



<p>Finally, ECOM is also supporting local nurseries to develop plants for on- and off-farm planting and distributing trees to further accelerate the transition to agroforestry. This will all be supported by a local plan to monitor and prevent deforestation. </p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://content.globalforestwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Peru-Forestry-2048x1356.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-18572"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: ECOM</figcaption></figure>



<p>Using the Cocoa DRA and complementary data and tools, ECOM will continue ongoing monitoring efforts aimed at identifying and preventing future deforestation. This is a great step in the right direction, but ultimately, companies like ECOM need more solutions that can encourage collaborative approaches and continued innovation that prioritizes the needs of cocoa farmers and their communities. Only then can we truly achieve deforestation-free supply chains.</p>



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Cocoa trader ECOM shows how companies can use data-driven resources reduce deforestation in their cocoa supply chains.