Forests, partnerships and progress

There are now more MPs in Westminster than there are Sumatran tigers left in the wild. It's a striking statistic, but one that captures the true scale of the challenge nature is facing.

By Rob Comley, Senior Policy & Advocacy Manager, Chester Zoo

Across South East Asia, forests continue to disappear at an alarming rate. As habitats are lost and fragmented, species such as Sumatran tigers, orangutans and hornbills are being pushed ever closer to extinction. More than 80% of orangutan habitat has been altered or destroyed over the past two decades, contributing to the loss of up to 3,000 orangutans every year – that’s eight every day.

Preventing extinction is at the heart of Chester Zoo's conservation mission. It is why we continue to use our voice to highlight the impacts of deforestation on wildlife, people and the climate.

I'm part of the delegation currently attending COP17 in Yerevan, and it is clear that halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 will require action on some of the biggest pressures facing nature, including deforestation.

With countries gathering to review progress towards the goals of the Global Biodiversity Framework, the focus is increasingly on where action is succeeding, where it is falling short, and what more needs to be done.

It's therefore no surprise that forests are featuring prominently in many of the conversations taking place across the conference.

Healthy forests support wildlife, regulate water supplies, store carbon, underpin food systems and sustain the livelihoods of millions of people.

They also sit at the heart of many of the Framework's goals and targets, from restoring ecosystems and promoting sustainable agriculture to encouraging more sustainable business practices.

Picture courtesy of Hutan

Through our work with Hutan in Malaysian Borneo, we've seen first-hand that protecting forests is about more than wildlife. The most successful projects recognise that people and nature depend on one another, with supporting communities just as important as restoring habitats or protecting species.

That same principle sits at the heart of our six-year partnership with Ferrero. Together, we've worked to tackle deforestation linked to unsustainable palm oil production through conservation, education and policy advocacy, while promoting more sustainable production and sourcing practices.

Partnerships like this show what can be achieved when conservation organisations and businesses work towards a common goal and highlight the role supply chains must play in tackling biodiversity loss.

Yet partnerships can only take us so far. Tackling deforestation also requires governments to create the right conditions for action.

That is why we hope COP17 provides fresh momentum for the UK's long-awaited Environment Act due diligence regulations. This legislation will make it mandatory for any business in Great Britain with an annual turnover of more than £1million to check back through the supply chains of commodities that put forests at risk, such as cocoa, coffee and palm oil, to make sure production adheres to local laws.



The enabling legislation has been in place for five years and, from our conversations with industry, the message is clear: businesses are ready and want the certainty these measures would provide. At a conference focused on implementation, bringing forward these regulations would demonstrate UK leadership on deforestation while creating a level playing field for businesses committed to more sustainable supply chains.

As conversations continue here in Yerevan, one message keeps coming through: we already know much of what needs to be done. From community-led on-the-ground conservation to partnerships with businesses and stronger supply-chain regulation, the tools are there. The challenge now is moving faster and at greater scale. If we are serious about halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030, protecting and restoring the world's forests must be part of the solution.