In the early 2000s, the 500,000 smallholder farmers who collectively produced more than three-quarters of Colombia’s coffee gave little thought to the impact of their activities on the environment, as they struggled to earn a living. Many carelessly used dangerous chemicals and dumped contaminated water into rivers. Aiming to protect biodiversity in coffee-growing regions of Latin America, the Global Environment Facility, an intergovernmental environmental fund, granted US$12 million to a United Nations Development Programme project led by the Rainforest Alliance, a New York–based nongovernmental organization (NGO), to help farmers in Colombia and five other Latin American countries meet a certification standard designed to enforce good agricultural practices and protect the environment. Crucially, the funding also enabled the Rainforest Alliance to cultivate a global market for sustainably produced coffee by promoting the product to companies and consumers. By 2017, about 10,000 Colombian farms covering about 70,000 hectares had earned Rainforest Alliance certification, and about 5% of coffee production globally was Rainforest Alliance certified. Other NGOs and coffee companies had developed similar but less-demanding systems, and collectively, they covered more than one third of Colombia’s coffee production. By comparison to other countries that produced agricultural commodities, that rate of participation was high, and the inclusion of smallholders, who were usually hard to organize, was distinctive. However, many farmers did not participate in the voluntary systems, and Colombia’s water and forest resources remained under threat in some areas.

Blair Cameron drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Bogotá, Manizales, Bucaramanga, and San Gil, Colombia, in June 2017. The British Academy-Department for International Development Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE) Program funded the development of this case study. Case published September 2017.

In the early 2000s, deforestation accelerated in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest, and global environmental groups began to raise the alarm. Greenpeace, one of the most vocal groups, published a report that placed the blame partly on the soy industry, which had grown rapidly in Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay. In response, industry representatives joined with nongovernmental organizations, financial institutions, supermarkets, and others in the soy supply chain to form the Roundtable on Responsible Soy (RTRS). Following the model of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, which worked to transform the environmentally destructive palm oil industry in Southeast Asia, the RTRS wanted to implement a supply chain certification system to help identify whether harvests came from land deforested without regard for environmental impact and nudge soy farmers into a new era of sustainable production. The roundtable participants successfully developed a standard for responsible practices, and enrolled a number of large farm enterprises. But low demand for certified soy and the high cost of becoming certified slowed progress, especially among smaller producers. As of 2017, less than 1% of soy produced in Brazil was RTRS certified, and uncertified landholders continued to convert important natural ecosystems into soy farms. Although the RTRS succeeded in bringing together key players in the soy industry to talk about sustainability for the first time, it was clear that complementary efforts were necessary to shift the soy industry as a whole toward environmentally friendly production.

In 2007, multinational consumer goods company Unilever launched a partnership with the Kenya Tea Development Agency (KTDA) to help bring Kenya’s more than 500,000 small-scale tea farmers up to the certification standard set by the Sustainable Agriculture Network, a global coalition of environmental organizations. To participate, farmers had to fulfill dozens of criteria related to worker safety, environmental management, and agricultural practices. The KTDA, a private company that had been government run until 2000, was able to roll out certification quickly and on an unprecedented scale, thanks to its large market share, its rapport with farmers, the willingness of multinational companies to support high-quality sustainably grown tea, and funding by donor organizations. By mid 2016, all of Kenya’s smallholders had met certification standards, and Unilever’s flagship Lipton brand was selling 100%-certified tea. Soon after, other major global brands met the same target. Farmers pointed to increased yields, stronger health and safety procedures, and improved livelihoods as benefits of the certification initiative.

Blair Cameron drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Kenya in January and February 2017. The British Academy-Department for International Development Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE) Program funded the development of this case study. Case published May 2017.

In 2011, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a global environmental group, launched a pilot project to help 349 Indonesian palm oil farmers reduce the environmental impact of their farms. The initiative was a first step towards ushering more than one million small-scale palm oil farmers into a new era of forest-friendly production that would help to save rain forests across Sumatra, Borneo, and other Southeast Asian islands. While some large plantations had already agreed to engage in sustainable practices, designed to improve yields while reducing social and environmental impacts, about 40% of Indonesia’s production came from growers who cultivated small plots—often in remote areas. Aiming to open the door to widespread adoption of sustainable practices in the palm oil industry, the WWF’s pilot project targeted a small group of farmers, introducing them to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), a global organization of palm companies, retailers, financial institutions, and environmental groups. The RSPO operated a voluntary certification system for sustainable palm oil production. In July 2013, the WWF pilot group became the first independent small-scale farmers in Indonesia to get certified under RSPO standards. During the next three years, a handful of similar groups followed, but significant challenges remained ahead for efforts to shift the palm oil industry as a whole toward sustainability. 

Blair Cameron drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Jakarta, Bogor, and Riau, Indonesia, in October 2016 and in Bangkok, Thailand in November 2016. The British Academy-Department for International Development Anti-Corruption Evidence (ACE) Program funded the development of this case study. Case published January 2017.

In the early 2000s, deforestation increased sharply in the Brazilian Amazon, jeopardizing the tropical rain forest’s critical role in mitigating global climate change. In 2003, under the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and his minister of the environment, Marina Silva, the federal government decided to address the problem. More than a dozen ministries worked together to draft the Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon. Implementation, which began the following year under coordination by the Office of the Chief of Staff of the President, expanded Brazil’s system of protected areas, improved remote monitoring of the Amazon, and increased enforcement of existing forestry laws. By 2007, the deforestation rate was less than half of 2004 levels. In response to an uptick in deforestation in late 2007 and early 2008, however, the Ministry of the Environment shifted tactics. Silva and her team at the ministry published a list of municipalities that bore the greatest responsibility for deforestation. The blacklisted municipalities were targets of increased enforcement operations and sanctions. The federal government also restricted landholders’ access to credit by requiring environmental compliance to qualify for government-subsidized agricultural credit. Brazil’s decade-long effort reduced the deforestation rate in the Amazon region by nearly 75% from the 1996–2005 average annual rate.

Rachel Jackson drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Brazil, in September and October 2014. This case was funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation in collaboration with the Science, Technology, and Environmental Policy program at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Case published January 2015. To learn more about how one local municipality implemented deforestation efforts, see "Controlling Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: Alta Floresta Works Towards Sustainability." 

Associated Interview(s):  Luciano Evaristo