Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 20
20
Accepted
Paragraph: 80
Complement demand-side due diligence with government initiatives to build capacity in producer countries.
Conclusion
To be effective, the Government’s proposed approach requires the UK to work in partnership with producer countries and to reinforce (and in some cases, strengthen) their legal and policy provisions to counter deforestation. We therefore recommend that the proposed demand-side due diligence system is complemented by Government initiatives to support and build capacity in producer countries.
Government response summary AI-generated
The government stated it shares responsibility for IPLC Forest Tenure Pledge commitments and detailed numerous existing UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) programmes that support IPLCs, strengthen tenure rights, and build capacity in producer countries, including future scoping missions and support for IPLC inclusion in negotiations.
Summary of the government's response below — read the verbatim text to verify.
Paragraph Reference:
80
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government · verbatim extract
Accepted
We agree that transforming global FRC supply chains involves interventions on both the ‘supply side’ and ‘demand side’; we aim to improve the incentives and capacity of producers to act sustainably while directing consumers to source sustainable commodities through regulatory requirements and market incentives. On the supply side, the UK government continues to work with both businesses and smallholder farmers to improve sustainable practices and encourage forest-friendly business. The Investments in Forests and Sustainable Land Use (IFSLU) programme supports the development of new business models which provide jobs and livelihoods while protecting and restoring forests. The programme is implemented through a set of complementary interventions including Partnerships for Forests (P4F), which provides grant funding and technical assistance to catalyse investment into sustainable agriculture and forest management. To date, P4F has mobilised £1 billion in private investment into forests, brought 4.1m hectares of land under sustainable management and benefitted over 250,000 people. At COP28, the UK announced the launch of Phase 2 of the IFSLU programme, which will extend the programme until 2033 and provide an additional £500 million in funding. IFSLU2 is expected to leverage an additional £2 billion of private investment for forests and will increase the scale of support provided to smallholder farmers. 2 Navigating the false dichotomy between legality and zero deforestation, Forest Trends, 2022: https://www. forest-trends.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Navigating-the-False-Dichotomy-Between-Legality-and-Zero- Deforestation.pdf The UK’s Mobilising Finance for Forests programme is working to increase private investment in activities that create value from standing forests and/or incorporate forest protection and restoration into sustainable agricultural commodity production. This programme is complementary to P4F, targeting larger and more mature opportunities that will mobilise investment into sustainable land-use at scale. Other policy measures are focused on improving the enabling conditions for forest-friendly production, trade and investment. The Forest Governance, Markets and Climate (FGMC) programme supports action on FRCs through strengthening forest governance, developing tools which support transparency and accountability (such as Global Forest Watch and Trase) and helping governments adapt to meet new international market requirements. Phase 2 of the FGMC programme, providing an additional £500 million over 10 years, is currently in development. The UK also established the Just Rural Transition (JRT) to assist countries to realign their agricultural policies to support the livelihoods of smallholder farmers while protecting the forests that support their resilience to climate change. Through programme funding to the World Bank, countries are receiving support to repurpose agricultural subsidies, while the JRT secretariat is helping to engage other stakeholders – particularly farmers’ organisations – in this agenda.
Read the full response on Parliament ↗