Direct and indirect deforestation for cocoa in the tropical moist forests of Ghana
Across the tropics, cocoa is one of the main drivers of deforestation. In Ghana, the world’s second largest cocoa producer, the role of each of the main economic sectors in driving deforestation remains, however, contested—with cocoa, mining, logging, and plantations each blaming the others. Previou...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Environmental Research: Food Systems |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1088/2976-601X/add01b |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849324222549065728 |
|---|---|
| author | Cécile Renier Thomas Addoah Valentin Guye Rachael Garrett Goedele Van den Broeck Erasmus K H J Zu Ermgassen Patrick Meyfroidt |
| author_facet | Cécile Renier Thomas Addoah Valentin Guye Rachael Garrett Goedele Van den Broeck Erasmus K H J Zu Ermgassen Patrick Meyfroidt |
| author_sort | Cécile Renier |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Across the tropics, cocoa is one of the main drivers of deforestation. In Ghana, the world’s second largest cocoa producer, the role of each of the main economic sectors in driving deforestation remains, however, contested—with cocoa, mining, logging, and plantations each blaming the others. Previous work has also suggested that food crops are displaced into forests by cocoa expansion, raising concerns about indirect land-use change and impacts on food availability. Here, using satellite-based maps and secondary data, we quantify the direct deforestation and forest degradation between 2000 and 2019 in the entire cocoa-growing region of Ghana which is attributed to the land uses (LUs) detected in 2019. Then, we use a land-balance approach to assess the indirect role of the expansion of LUs in deforestation and degradation for food crops. We find that cocoa was the major direct driver over that period (∼57%), followed by food crops and logging (∼39% in total), then by mining (3%), tree plantations (2%) and settlements (<1%). Roughly 30% of the deforestation and degradation of land used for food crops in 2019 was attributed to their displacement from elsewhere by other LUs—with 15% (9%–17%) due to cocoa expansion into food crops. In cocoa-saturated regions, indirect deforestation is likely to increase as forests only remain in gazetted areas, where growing food crops is either legal or more tolerated by officials than cocoa. Accounting for its direct and indirect role, cocoa was associated with ∼20% of the deforestation in gazetted areas. This research highlights the need to move away from sustainability efforts targeting one single commodity at a time to more transformative approaches that develop a coordinated vision across the food and land system. Such a vision would regulate multiple commodities holistically, address lock-ins, and reconsider the overall use of land systems in the region (how much land should be dedicated to cocoa, how and for whose benefits). |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b0d48a529a3349cf9725427c85b40320 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2976-601X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environmental Research: Food Systems |
| spelling | doaj-art-b0d48a529a3349cf9725427c85b403202025-08-20T03:48:46ZengIOP PublishingEnvironmental Research: Food Systems2976-601X2025-01-012202500610.1088/2976-601X/add01bDirect and indirect deforestation for cocoa in the tropical moist forests of GhanaCécile Renier0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8235-1183Thomas Addoah1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8333-1283Valentin Guye2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8530-7292Rachael Garrett3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6171-263XGoedele Van den Broeck4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8480-3526Erasmus K H J Zu Ermgassen5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9168-6057Patrick Meyfroidt6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1047-9794Earth and Life Institute, UCLouvain , Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, BelgiumDepartment of Geography and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge , Cambridge, United KingdomEarth and Life Institute, UCLouvain , Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, BelgiumDepartment of Geography and Conservation Research Institute, University of Cambridge , Cambridge, United KingdomEarth and Life Institute, UCLouvain , Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, BelgiumEarth and Life Institute, UCLouvain , Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, BelgiumEarth and Life Institute, UCLouvain , Louvain-la-Neuve 1348, Belgium; Fonds de la Recherche Scientifique F. R. S.-FNRS , Rue d’Egmont 5, B-1000 Brussels, BelgiumAcross the tropics, cocoa is one of the main drivers of deforestation. In Ghana, the world’s second largest cocoa producer, the role of each of the main economic sectors in driving deforestation remains, however, contested—with cocoa, mining, logging, and plantations each blaming the others. Previous work has also suggested that food crops are displaced into forests by cocoa expansion, raising concerns about indirect land-use change and impacts on food availability. Here, using satellite-based maps and secondary data, we quantify the direct deforestation and forest degradation between 2000 and 2019 in the entire cocoa-growing region of Ghana which is attributed to the land uses (LUs) detected in 2019. Then, we use a land-balance approach to assess the indirect role of the expansion of LUs in deforestation and degradation for food crops. We find that cocoa was the major direct driver over that period (∼57%), followed by food crops and logging (∼39% in total), then by mining (3%), tree plantations (2%) and settlements (<1%). Roughly 30% of the deforestation and degradation of land used for food crops in 2019 was attributed to their displacement from elsewhere by other LUs—with 15% (9%–17%) due to cocoa expansion into food crops. In cocoa-saturated regions, indirect deforestation is likely to increase as forests only remain in gazetted areas, where growing food crops is either legal or more tolerated by officials than cocoa. Accounting for its direct and indirect role, cocoa was associated with ∼20% of the deforestation in gazetted areas. This research highlights the need to move away from sustainability efforts targeting one single commodity at a time to more transformative approaches that develop a coordinated vision across the food and land system. Such a vision would regulate multiple commodities holistically, address lock-ins, and reconsider the overall use of land systems in the region (how much land should be dedicated to cocoa, how and for whose benefits).https://doi.org/10.1088/2976-601X/add01bland balancefood cropsminingplantationsfood securityindirect land use change |
| spellingShingle | Cécile Renier Thomas Addoah Valentin Guye Rachael Garrett Goedele Van den Broeck Erasmus K H J Zu Ermgassen Patrick Meyfroidt Direct and indirect deforestation for cocoa in the tropical moist forests of Ghana Environmental Research: Food Systems land balance food crops mining plantations food security indirect land use change |
| title | Direct and indirect deforestation for cocoa in the tropical moist forests of Ghana |
| title_full | Direct and indirect deforestation for cocoa in the tropical moist forests of Ghana |
| title_fullStr | Direct and indirect deforestation for cocoa in the tropical moist forests of Ghana |
| title_full_unstemmed | Direct and indirect deforestation for cocoa in the tropical moist forests of Ghana |
| title_short | Direct and indirect deforestation for cocoa in the tropical moist forests of Ghana |
| title_sort | direct and indirect deforestation for cocoa in the tropical moist forests of ghana |
| topic | land balance food crops mining plantations food security indirect land use change |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1088/2976-601X/add01b |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT cecilerenier directandindirectdeforestationforcocoainthetropicalmoistforestsofghana AT thomasaddoah directandindirectdeforestationforcocoainthetropicalmoistforestsofghana AT valentinguye directandindirectdeforestationforcocoainthetropicalmoistforestsofghana AT rachaelgarrett directandindirectdeforestationforcocoainthetropicalmoistforestsofghana AT goedelevandenbroeck directandindirectdeforestationforcocoainthetropicalmoistforestsofghana AT erasmuskhjzuermgassen directandindirectdeforestationforcocoainthetropicalmoistforestsofghana AT patrickmeyfroidt directandindirectdeforestationforcocoainthetropicalmoistforestsofghana |