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commodities such as soy, palm oil, sugar and cotton,
in sustainable ways that include ‘zero deforestation’
targets. This approach complements the laudable
progress made by producer and consumer countries
to clean up the timber value chain. The World Bank
has been a strong believer in forest law enforcement
and governance efforts to combat illegal logging and
develop a more level playing field for legitimate forest
sector enterprises and forest-dependent people, and
supports multi-stakeholder processes to make supply
chains more sustainable.
There is also momentum behind the idea that forestry
and agriculture are closely linked agendas and that inte-
grated landscape approaches hold the ticket to sound
rural development. In particular, ‘climate-smart’ agri-
culture (which includes proven practical techniques,
such as mulching, intercropping and agroforestry, as
well as innovative practices, such as better weather fore-
casting, more resilient food crops and risk insurance)
can deliver sustainable and profitable crop intensifica-
tion and encourage the planting or regeneration of trees
on farms, while reducing deforestation.
Because of their versatility, forests are an indispensable ally in
our collective search for a better future in which more people will
be able to achieve prosperity without damaging their environment.
This vision of ‘green growth’ guides the World Bank Group’s
work in the forest and agriculture sectors. As climate change and
food shortages throw new challenges in the path of developing
countries, our programmes are supporting solutions that increase
productivity without compromising livelihoods, soil, water, biodi-
versity and forests. To avoid solving a problem while exacerbating
another, the World Bank urges its client countries to take an inte-
grated approach to climate change, poverty and food security.
A triple win
Although agricultural expansion and shifting agriculture are the
main drivers of deforestation and forest degradation in different
parts of the world, and deforestation and forest degradation in turn
emit a significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions, there
are several reasons for hoping we are close to reversing this nega-
tive trend.
Recent years have seen the creation of ‘sustainable commodity
roundtables’ that bring the private sector, financiers, governments,
smallholders and civil society organizations together to produce
Forests host 80 per cent of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity
Image: Kyle O’Donoghue/World Bank