The importance of forests is underlined by the direct and indirect dependence of humans on them for survival. Forests provide us with numerous services like food, fuel, and medicines along with ecosystem services like keeping climate stable and regulating our water supply. Globally, an estimated two billion people depend on forests for shelter, livelihood, water, food, and security, while more than 13 million people are dependent on them for employment.They are also vital in mitigating climate change, as they are one of the largest storehouses of carbon, with tropical forests alone storing an estimated quarter of a trillion tons of carbon. Yet, forests are being lost at an unprecedented pace globally.

Expanding agriculture and unsustainable logging, due to increasing global demand, is responsible for speeding up the rate of deforestation and degradation across commodities, such as, soybean, palm oil, timber, pulp & paper, and natural rubber. India’s growing population, coupled with a rising middle class and changing consumption patterns has resulted in demand currently outstripping domestic production across several commodities. This has increased India’s footprint across many of these commodities and triggered significant reliance on imports. India can therefore play an important role in moving towards sustainable consumption across its supply chain, by influencing sustainable production in India and across several countries.

We need combined action by business, governments, investors, civil society organisations, and citizens in order to address these complex problems and their adverse impact on the planet.  In this context, WWF India in partnership with CRB, is hosting a roundtable discussion on “Building Sustainable Supply Chains Across Forest-Linked Commodities” at ISS 2020