Protection of the Biodiversity in the Cultivation of Bananas and Pineapples

Measures for more biodiversity along the supply chain of bananas and pineapples in the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica

Del Capo al Plato Fact Sheet

Recommdndations (July 2020)
Global Nature Fund (GNF) and Bodensee-Stiftung (Lake Constance Foundation)

For effective criteria for biodiversity protection in food standards and sourcing requirements of food companies in the banana and pineapple sector

Recomendaciones
Para criterios de protección de biodiversidad efectivos en estándares y en requerimientos de empresas en el sector alimentario

Baseline Report (July 2019)
Biodiversity in Standards of the Banana and Pineapple Sector

From farm to Fork:

Integrating biodiversity into agrifood value chains

Background

About 40 % of the planet's surface is used for agricultural purposes. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, agriculture is responsible for 70 % of biodiversity loss, a situation that mainly affects developing countries, where 72 % of species of flora and fauna are endangered due to agriculture.

The degradation of ecosystems and the consequent loss of habitat for many animals, plants and micro-organisms are especially dramatic in regions where agricultural crops are sown in monoculture production systems.

Monocultures of pineapple and banana can negatively influence climate and biodiversity. This management can degrade ecosystems, contribute to soil erosion, affect the availability of water sources, and contaminate water and air.

Both crops are in high demand in the European Union (EU), particularly in Germany. Among the largest exporters to the EU market in 2015 were Costa Rica (940,000 tonnes) and the Dominican Republic (330,000 tonnes). The three most important importing countries were Belgium, the United Kingdom and thirdly Germany (698,000 tonnes).

Banana and pineapple are Costa Rica's main agricultural exports; together, they occupy almost 90,000 hectares of the territory. In the Dominican Republic, about 49% of the country's 48,000 square kilometre area is used for agricultural purposes.

Compatibility between highly productive agriculture and biodiversity conservation is possible and indispensable to ensure, on the one hand, a secure food supply and, on the other, the protection of the diversity of ecosystems and species.

Project objectives

From Farm to Fork project will take place in two countries: Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic. Project activities will support the integration of conservation, protection of natural capital and valuation of ecosystem services in banana and pineapple value chains, increasing sustainability in production through biodiversity-responsible measures.

Key actors of this project are the people involved along value chains, including plantation owners and managers, quality and sustainability standards and/or certification organizations, exporters, importers and traders, agricultural education centres, as well as final consumers.

Project measures

1. Include biodiversity criteria for banana and pineapple crops in national and international standards and procurement guidelines of food companies. Through appropriate measures, responsible agricultural practices with biodiversity in terrestrial ecosystems will be consolidated, both for soil conservation and for the preservation of species diversity. As a first step, pilot farms will be identified to implement biodiversity-responsible measures, which will provide information for improving biodiversity criteria in national and international food sector standards and corporate procurement guidelines. A biodiversity performance monitoring and verification system and training program will be developed.

2. Develop a Biodiversity Innovation Fund to support the conception and implementation of the implementation of biodiversity-responsible measures in production. This fund will support producers with technical advice, materials and equipment for the implementation of biodiversity-responsible measures in production systems.

3. Establish a Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) model for financing areas of biological connectivity developed by value chain actors in productive regions. In addition, actors throughout the value chain will invest in the creation of these areas, which will interconnect valuable ecosystems and increase the resilience of these and cropping areas to climate change. In this way, an intrinsic motivation of the actors to invest in the connectivity of key ecosystems will be fostered.

4. Aware raising of the food sector and end consumers of the value of biodiversity. Food companies and consumers will be sensitized about buying bananas and pineapples produced under biodiversity-responsible conditions, and to recognize these efforts by paying a differentiated price for these products. These measures will contribute to an improvement in consumption behaviour in importing countries.

5. Disseminate and exchange experiences at the national, regional and international levels. The good practices generated and documented will be presented in regional and international networks and forums. Through the involvement of the private sector, new contacts and additional capital will be promoted, as well as initiatives for the mainstreaming of biodiversity in agriculture, which will promote the implementation of Aichi Biodiversity Targets (4, 7, 8 and 20), as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) (especially SDGs 6, 12, 14 and 15).

Contact persons

Mr. Dr. Thomas Schaefer

Global Nature Fund – Office Radolfzell

Phone: +49 7732 9995 89

E-mail: schaefer@globalnature.org

Ms. Marion Hammerl

Bodensee-Stiftung (Lake Constance Foundation)

Phone: +49 7732 9995 45

E-mail: marion.hammerl@bodensee-stiftung.org

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From Farm to Fork: Integration of biodiversity into the value chains of agri-food products

November 2018 - October 2022

Dominican Republic, Costa Rica

International Climate Initiative (IKI), with support from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationalle Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Bodensee-Stiftung, Global Nature Fund (GNF)