Halting deforestation and conversion from agricultural commodity supply chains.

The commercial production of agricultural commodities is a dominant economic force in many national and developing rural economies. When managed sustainably, commodity supply chains can become engines for rural development, addressing many of the global sustainable development goals related to poverty reduction and protecting the planet. Transforming key commodity supply chains can significantly reduce tropical deforestation and stem climate change.

Launched in 2017, the Good Growth Partnership (GGP) was established to address the root causes that lead to deforestation, environmental degradation and the unsustainable production of three commodities: soy, beef, and palm oil. This ambitious collaborative effort aimed to balance the needs of a growing global population and a demand for soy, beef and palm oil expected to double by 2030, with social and environmental responsibilities. The Partnership worked across production, financing and demand to convene a wide range of stakeholders and initiatives to create lasting, transformative change throughout these key global commodity supply chains in four countries—Brazil, Indonesia, Liberia and Paraguay. 

During this pilot phase, completed in 2022, the Partnership focused on four landscapes, prioritised due to their high conservation value: Brazil’s Matopiba region in the country’s Cerrado tropical savannah ecoregion; important ecosystems in the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Kalimantan; the biodiversity-rich northwest of Liberia and the semi-arid Chaco region of Paraguay.  

Supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and led by the UNDP’s Green Commodities Programme (currently Food Systems), the Partnership pilot phase was implemented in collaboration with Conservation International, the International Finance Corporation, UN Environment, the World Wildlife Fund and the governments of Indonesia, Paraguay, Brazil and Liberia.

Over five years, the Partnership focused on addressing:

• Policies to make suitable land available for production.
• Enhancing producers' capacity to adopt good agricultural practices.
• Boosting investment and economic incentives for sustainable production.
• Increasing market awareness and demand for reduced deforestation.

Learn about GGP's results and impact in the GGP Impact Overview and its related GGP Impact Briefs and Visual Guide. Country impact and supply chain stories can be found here.

Building on the outcomes of its pilot phase, the GGP continues its work through the Food Systems, Land Use and Restoration Impact Programme (FOLUR), jointly supporting 27 Country Projects via the Knowledge to Action (K2A) Global Platform to accelerate transformative action across landscapes and along value chains. Further details are available in the related section of this website. GGP brings together the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Conservation International, and ISEAL as core partners.

Meanwhile, GGP partners are actively seeking to scale their efforts to more countries and landscapes, through an improved approach taking into account the lessons from its pilot phase. 

For more information, please visit  www.goodgrowthpartnership.com and contact Sandra Andraka, UNDP Senior Advisor at sandra.andraka@undp.org.