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In France, a strategy to combat imported deforestation is starting to be put in place and the country intends to bring this mobilization to European level. This is one of his priorities during his presidency of the European Council which began on January 1 for 6 months.
Sitting in front of a computer, Klervi Le Guenic, in charge of tropical forests at the NGO Canopée, browses the website dedicated to the fight once morest deforestation imported into France. “Soybeans are the main source of deforestation imported from France and the soybeans that we import mainly come from Brazil. »
Online since the end of November, a form allows you to view these Brazilian soybean imports into France, and intended for animal feed. Thanks to satellite and customs data, the risk of deforestation appears depending on the place and date of the plantations, the producer or the port of departure of the goods.
« The key element is these small diagrams which make it possible to classify the main exporters and importers, and to be able to see – in green – the part of their supply which is at low risk of deforestation, and the part which is at high risk. risk of deforestation. »
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Virtuous practices expected by consumers
This tool is intended for French companies on a voluntary basis. If the experiment works, it might be extended to countries other than Brazil and for other commodities: cocoa, coffee, beef, palm oil for example.
Several large groups like Auchan, Lidl, or Herta have undertaken to use it. This is also the case with Carrefour. Agathe Grossmith is the project manager there: “Our goal is for 100% of these sensitive raw materials to have a solution that allows us to guarantee the absence of deforestation. This is clearly expected by our customers. Our bet, since this is something that is unique and has not yet been done across the world, is to say that the whole market will have the same rules of the game and gradually, that will encourage buyers to choose where there is less risk and also for manufacturers to gradually have more virtuous practices », She explains.
For a common European framework
But for this to work, the entire market would have to engage. Bérangère Abba, Secretary of State for Biodiversity, explains that France wants to lead this fight at European level.
«Today we absolutely need a system that is the same for everyone with a common definition of products, of what deforestation is and also a binding framework so that at the level of the community market we all have the same criteria. , that there is no competition between the different countries of the Union. This device is on the table and we will have to negotiate it during the French presidency of the European Union to achieve, we hope, this framework which would be set at European level.», Declares the Secretary of State.
► To read also: The European Union sets a first milestone once morest imported deforestation
And if the environmental protection NGOs are quite satisfied, they still demand that the final text include the complete list of products that participate in the destruction of the environment abroad in forests, but also in the savannas. , meadows or wetlands. The EU is believed to be responsible for 16% of deforestation linked to agricultural production in the world, behind China (24%) and ahead of India (9%), the United States (7%), and Japan ( 5%), according to WWF.
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