COP20 (03/12/14) – Hayward explains that deforestation is an extremely important issue. 70% of deforestation is driven by conversion to agriculture, 50% of which is from 4 commodity crops: pulpwood, cattle, oil palm, soybeans.
He mentions best practices such as sustainably intensifying the production of cattle, where less land is used to produce as much or more beef. When asked about whether the focus should be on consumers in the west who eat far more meat than they probably need to, Hayward replies that the Rainforest Alliance logo is trying to achieve a fun and interesting way to engage consumers to make better choices that reflect people and nature.
The Rainforest Alliance also aims to help smallholder farmers in the meso American forest corridors connect to markets so they will be rewarded for sustainable best practices. The RA are interested in how COP20 climate financing brings technical assistance, crediting, knowledge and resilience to climate change to small holder farmers.