May 05, 2021 05:30 PM EDT
Ivory Coast and Ghana - cocoa giants announced progress in goals to stop deforestation as they get ready for more strict European Union rules on production qualities of the ingredient.
(Photo : Getty Images)
Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI)
Ivory Coast - top grower is making use of satellites for deforestation monitoring and in 2020 cultivated nearly 10 million trees, while Ghana got back about 558,000 acres (226,000 hectares) of forest region last year, according to reports by the public-private partnership called the Cocoa and Forests Initiative (CFI).
Production of cocoa has been a chief driver of deforestation in the two countries, which provides approximately 70% of the world's beans, with Ivory Coast losing about 85% of its forest covering since the 1960s. A report released by the World Cocoa Foundation last year, which symbolizes chocolate and cocoa industries, said aims for distribution of trees organized by the CFI were not close to being met.