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Written by Alistair Macgregor
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Friday, 13 March 2009 09:18 |
The Prince's Rainforests Project commissioned the Royal Agricultural College to do a desk study on the Current and Alternative Production Patterns of Beef, Soy and Oil Palm: Implications for Rainforest Conservation. It looked into those areas in terms of the current and possible future impacts on the rainforests.
The drivers of deforestation are numerous and complex; it is recognised that various agricultural expansion, from smallholdings to corporate farming, can be a major cause of underlying deforestation. The PRP had chosen to focus on three commodities, which are often cultivated on deforested land, from which economic returns could outweigh payments for carbon or other ecosystems services derived from other forest uses. Amazon in Brazil and Indonesia/Malaysia were the focus of this study, having prime rainforest ecosystems areas.
The RAC desk study scoped current and alternative patterns of production for palm oil, soybean and beef in these areas look at the current and possible future impacts on the rainforests.
Through the RAC scoping study, the supply and demand for the agricultural commodities of palm oil, soybean and beef have identified the likely future demands over the next ten years. Based on a range of evidence, the RAC gave their opinion as to the likely area of new land required to meet expected demands in the future. This opinion included, where feasible, the rehabilitation and use of degraded forestlands. Finally, the RAC identified possible alternative and sustainable strategies for each commodity if produced in the rainforests.
It was recognised that the success of the considered strategies would be influenced by the degree of awareness of what is being done by consumers and the end markets. Greater awareness and pull from the end of the chain will provide a positive stimulus for sustainable production in rainforests. The RAC found that what is needed is linkage between producers and consumers - in other words, a sustainable supply chain.
PRP works with governments, businesses, NGOs and individuals to increase global recognition of the contribution of tropical deforestation to climate change and to find ways to make the rainforest worth more alive than dead.
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For students 
The control of the price of offsets is the most important. It would give industry the ability to make cost effective decisions that would allow them to include accurate cost of carbon offsets. It would also allow them to determine the impact of long term investment in the reduction of carbon emissions.
With the cost of carbon emissions being a floating number based on forecasted climate control initiatives, you would be able to develop cost trends to be distributed to industry. We all know industry only has one incentive to change; it’s always the bottom line.
Tony E. Madison