COVID-19 Report - 33

© Neil Ever Osborne / WWF-US

Systemic action: Work across supply chains to
increase the sustainability of food systems and
to ensure the healthy functioning of natural
ecosystems. Strengthen regulations and incentives to
shift demand toward commodities that are produced,
processed and traded safely and sustainably, considering
risks to the environment and human health and avoiding
new deforestation or conversion of natural ecosystems. This
includes demand-side governments and businesses taking
more responsibility to put in place and uphold regulations
and making sustainable choices across the supply chain, as
well as greater collaboration on the supply side to transition
to more sustainable and safer practices.
These actions include:
●● Demand-side governments showing global leadership by
developing and enforcing policies/legislation to eliminate
deforestation and conversion from supply chains and create
a consistent market for sustainably sourced commodities,
(for example, the EU where potential for such legislation
is emerging at the moment) while also partnering with
supply-side governments to support their transition to
sustainable production.146,147
●● Companies eliminating deforestation and land conversion
from their supply chains, by making timebound and
measurable commitments with credible plans to
achieve them. This includes adopting deforestation- and
conversion-free sourcing and trade policies in line with
the guidance of the Accountability Framework initiative

(AFi), and reporting transparently on progress.148 Beyond
their own supply chains, companies should advocate for
deforestation- and conversion-free policies and invest in the
landscapes that they source from, collaborating with local
platforms to support the transition to deforestation-and
conversion-free landscapes.149,150
●● Collaborating with global platforms that promote food
system transformation to stimulate pre-competitive action
to eliminate deforestation and conversion from sourcing
practices.
●● Promoting financial and technical support for local action
in deforestation fronts from corporate, bilateral and
national sources. This should include facilitating effective
land-use planning and governance to combat conversion
and fragmentation, developed in conjunction with IPLCs to
respect their land and water rights.151
●● Developing local solutions to landscape-specific risks,
including expanded networks of effectively and equitably
managed protected and conserved areas, which respect
biosafety standards, have alternative financing mechanisms
that are more resilient to shocks, and recognize IPLC land
and water rights.152
●● Shifting the public to more sustainable diets and food
choices by raising awareness of the impact on nature
and climate, incorporating environmental health into
governmental dietary guidelines, and working with
businesses to support sustainable dietary patterns.

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COVID-19 Report

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