Sustainable production of forest-risk commodities: governance and disarticulations

Although commodities associated with deforestation – such as palm oil, soy, beef, timber, coffee and cocoa – vary geographically, their growing global demand increases pressure on forestlands in many tropical regions. The landscape changes that accompany expansion of production areas result in the loss of ecosystem services at local and global levels, and restrict local access to forests and forest resources. Increased awareness of ‘telecouplings’ between distant producer and consumer systems, through new forms of information exchange, has led to changes in how production systems are governed in relation to sustainability, including through private-sector led and hybrid governance initiatives. One such example is through private-sector ‘zero-deforestation’ commitments, which promise to eliminate deforestation from the supply chains of the commodities that companies produce, trade, and/or source. Using the concept of ‘disarticulations’, this chapter brings an analysis of global production networks into conversation with critical political economy’s emphasis on discourse and knowledge production. We examine some of the complexities in the implementation ‘zero-deforestation’ commitments, how socio-economic processes in global production are linked or delinked, and how people can be connected to or excluded from these chains. Finally, we reflect on opportunities for research and practice in shifting towards sustainable production and consumption of deforestation-risk commodities.