Science Summit at United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78)

Approximately a quarter of the world's agricultural production is exchanged through international trade. While this allows the redistribution of food that is essential for global food security, it also brings with it a series of negative consequences in food-producing regions such as Latin America. The spatial decoupling between production and consumption of agricultural and forestry products generally results in the displacement of environmental impacts, a process commonly referred to as unequal ecological exchange. Supply chain interventions are promising tools to reduce the externalization of the socioecological impacts of the production of export commodities such as soybeans, beef, cocoa, etc. For example, many companies have adopted zero deforestation commitments and committed to increasing the traceability and transparency of their supply chains. Likewise, new trade agreements, such as the EU-MERCOSUR agreement, and new EU due diligence policies, seek to implement deforestation-free supply chains. The design and implementation of these initiatives, both private and public, face a number of challenges arising from the need to generate and manage large amounts of information through rigorous and replicable procedures and methods. The sustainability sciences are theoretically well equipped to respond to these challenges because of their inter- and transdisciplinary nature, oriented towards finding solutions to socio-environmental problems. The actual or potential contribution of these sciences to the generation of deforestation-free chains depends largely on the demands and expectations of the actors and sectors that are part of the chains. This session will bring together different stakeholders involved in research and/or management of commodity supply chains in order to share different views on the role of science and its contribution to the environmental sustainability of international trade.