Aerial view of forest in the Yangambi National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. © Nyani Quarmyne / GIZ

Enabling deforestation-free supply chains around the world

Sustainable Agriculture for Forest Ecosystems (SAFE)

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  • Client

    German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)

  • Co-financier

    European Union (EU), Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands

  • Political sponsors

    More

  • Runtime

    2022 to 2028

  • Involved

    Forest Data Partnership (World Resources Institute, Linux Foundation / AgStack, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), Climate & Company, Solidaridad, Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Tropical Forest Alliance / Indonesia Business Council for Sustainable Development, Cocoa Sustainability Partnership, Partnership for Indonesia Sustainable Agriculture (PISAgro)

  • Products and expertise

    Rural development

A woman holds a ripe, opened cocoa fruit in her hands.

Context

As much as 90 per cent of global deforestation occurs because agricultural producers expand their land areas, especially for products such as coffee, cocoa, natural rubber, palm oil, beef, soya and timber. The European Union (EU) is a key importer of these commodities, which is why it has adopted the European Union Deforestation-free Regulation (EUDR). It is regarded as a milestone for global forest protection and comes into force at the end of 2024.

Objective

A contribution has been made to the inclusive transformation towards deforestation-free, climate-friendly and legal agricultural supply chains into the EU.

Two hands scoop ripe coffee beans from a basket.© GIZ/Leslie Searles

Approach

Together with the ministries in the partner countries, the project is working to enable producers and public, private and civil society stakeholders to build their capacities for deforestation-free and legal value chains. It is disseminating digital systems in order to trace products back and developing a public data infrastructure.

In South America, Africa and South-East Asia the project promotes regional discussions and networking with important actors. These talks aim to improve understanding in order to implement the EU Deforestation-free Regulation.

The project also expands green finance schemes with the political partners and supports disadvantaged groups such as indigenous communities and women by making them more visible and including their needs in training measures.

It is also a flagship of the new Team Europe Initiative in which European states jointly advocate for deforestation-free value chains and promote coordination, exchange of knowledge and cooperation in Europe and worldwide.

The project is commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-financed by the EU and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. It is a component of the Fund for the Promotion of Innovation in Agriculture (i4Ag) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Two experts stand in the Amazon rainforest looking up.

Last update: August 2024

Additional information