International cocoa and confectionary companies are t support Ghana to deepen its forest protection measures, a press release has said.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the WCF and the Ghana Forestry Commission (GFC) seeks to speed up the delivery of commitments in the cocoa forests initiative through public and private sector initiatives.
“The GFC and WCF are building this partnership to further align the country’s implementation of the United Nation’s REDD+ Program and the cocoa forests initiative to prevent deforestation in cocoa-growing areas,” the statement said.
The MOU commits the parties to work together in six regions (provinces) where the government of Ghana has already made actions to protect and restore forests a priority.
“This partnership represents a phenomenal collaboration with the private sector to ambitiously contribute to real and verifiable emission reductions in Ghana’s precious forest landscapes which are home to diverse forms of wildlife,” said John Allotey, the chief executive officer of the GFC.
He said the Ghana Cocoa Forests REDD+ program “is already achieving significant impact with inclusive governance arrangements and the GFC encourages other like-minded institutions to strategically partner with the program for visible impact at scale.”
“Our partnership with GFC aims to accelerate our journey towards forest positive cocoa. Ending cocoa-related deforestation requires all stakeholders to work together,” said Richard Scobey, WCF’s President.
Ghana is the world’s second-largest cocoa producer, exporting about 800,000 tons of the chocolate beans last year.