Ghana and cocoa and chocolate companies announced an agreement on Wednesday to accelerate collaboration to protect and restore forests in cocoa-growing areas. With this agreement, the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF) and the Forestry Commission of Ghana (GFC) are building a partnership to further align the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Program (GCFRP) and the Cocoa & Forests Initiative to achieve no deforestation commitments.
The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by GFC and WCF, commits the parties to working together in six regions where the government of Ghana has made action to protect and restore forests a priority. The work in these Hotspot Intervention Areas has already started, with active engagements in the Asunafo-Asutifi, Bia-Juaboso, Kakum and Sefwi-Bibiani landscapes. It is aligned with commitments spelled out in the Ghana framework for action signed in November 2017 for the landmark Cocoa & Forests Initiative, a unique partnership of 35 companies, governments and cocoa-growing communities.