Environment Annex

What is this document about?

This annex includes additional binding content related to the implementation of the requirements in the Environment Chapter of the Rainforest Alliance Standards. This document includes:

• Additional details on requirement 6.1.1 of no-conversion of natural forests and other natural ecosystems.

• Additional details on requirement 6.1.2 of no-encroachment into protected areas and officially designated buffer zones.

• Additional details on conservation and restoration areas outside farm boundaries related to continuous improvement requirements 6.2.3 and 6.2.4 of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard.

When and how to use this document?

This document provides Certificate Holders with additional information on the referenced requirements of the Rainforest Alliance Standards and how to implement them. Certificate Bodies may also refer to this document for better understanding of what is required for implementation.

Changes in update from v1.1 to v1.2

 1. Geodata Risk Assessment

The Rainforest Alliance’s geodata risk assessment provides Certificate Holders the following information:

• Deforestation risk map.

• Encroachment into protected areas risk map.

• Geodata risk table of each farm unit with the level of risk of deforestation and encroachment into protected areas.

These outputs give an overview of possible non-compliances with the Rainforest Alliance Standards requirements 6.1.1 and 6.1.2. The risk assessment is available to Certificate Holders and Certification Bodies on the Rainforest Alliance platform and is actualized each time geolocation data is updated.

 2. Additional Details on No-Conversion of Natural Forests

Base requirement 6.1.1 sets January 1, 2014, as the cut-off date after which no deforestation or conversion may occur. Any deforestation or conversion occurring later than this date renders a given area or production unit as non-compliant with the Rainforest Alliance Standards and may be cause for non-certification or cancelation.

However, some flexibility is provided for minor cases of deforestation or conversion that can be remediated as detailed in sections 2.2 and 2.3 below. Furthermore, minor conversion for management of infrastructure may be granted by the Rainforest Alliance following the request procedure described in section 2.4.

2.1 Identification of Conversion

The Rainforest Alliance’s deforestation risk assessment evaluates uploaded geodata from Certificate Holders to determine whether a farm unit possesses a risk of deforestation from 2014 onwards. Based on the percentage of the area of the farm unit that overlaps with the deforested area, three risk levels are assigned: low risk (green) 0%, medium risk (orange) up to 1.2%, and high risk (red) more than 1.2% overlap.  Low risk is considered insignificant risk, while medium and high risk are considered significant risk.

The deforestation risk assessment may not always differentiate between conversion and acceptable land use changes as defined by Rainforest Alliance, such as:  

• Forest plantations that are harvested and converted to agricultural use but do not involve conversion of natural ecosystems.

• Harvesting of shade trees that does not involve conversion of natural forests.

• Tree cover loss that occurred before the 2014 cut-off date.

Certificate Holders must use the results of the Rainforest Alliance risk assessment to identify areas and group members at risk of non-compliance, evaluate the risks, and take steps to manage them appropriately.

For farm units with a significant risk of deforestation (categorized as medium or high risk), the Certificate Holder is required to conduct internal inspections of these areas. These inspections must confirm if any land conversion has occurred by collecting evidence through farmer interviews and field observations. The evidence gathered must be retained throughout and after the audit process and must be made available upon request by the auditors or the Rainforest Alliance. Evidence to confirm whether or not the conversion(s) occurred may include:

• Updated farm boundary polygons, if relevant.

• Documentation demonstrating land use rights or legal ownership of land in accordance with national legislation (e.g., land titles, indigenous rights, government permits, certificates, or verifiable customary means).

• Geotagged photographs, maps, or other visual evidence.

• Farmer, community members, and other stakeholders interview records.

• Information from local government agencies (e.g., Forestry agencies, National Parks etc.).

2.2 Minor Conversion That Has Already Occurred

If the internal inspection before the first certification audit finds conversion, the Certificate Holder must check if it falls within minor conversion thresholds defined here and implement a restoration plan as per section 2.3. When the conversion(s) are above the thresholds, the Certificate Holder shall exclude the non-compliant group member, farm, or farm unit from the certification program. For all farms, including EUDR opt-in, the conversion must have occurred between January 1^st, 2014, and December 31^st, 2020. The Certificate Holders and/or group members must meet these additional criteria:

a) Large farms and individual farms

For large farms (including those certified as part of a group) and individual farms, conversion must not comprise more than 1% of the land of the farm or more than 10 hectares (whichever is smaller).

b) Group certification

For small farms in group certification, conversion must not comprise more than 1% of the total land of the farm unit area.

The Rainforest Alliance retains the rights to review, approve, deny, or revoke these allowances for specific Certificate Holders and on a case-by-case basis.

2.3 Restoration of Minor Conversion That Has Already Occurred

For conversions within these thresholds, farm management must create a restoration plan with an ecologist to remediate the converted forest or ecosystem. The planned restoration must be:

• Proportional: The area to be restored must be at least as big as the converted area. This requirement can be met by taking the converted area out of production and restoring it, or by restoring and/or providing compensatory conservation benefits on a nearby area.

• Equivalent: The ecosystem to be restored must be equivalent to the lost natural ecosystem in ecological value. If the value of the restored area is or will be lower than that of the converted area, then a larger area must be restored.

• Additional: The restoration activities must be additional to the activities planned for other reasons including compliance with the Rainforest Alliance requirements on natural vegetation.

• Permanent: The restoration activities must be designed in a way to ensure long-term viability, including funding, management responsibilities, and clear land designations and land rights.

Additionally, for group certification, the following must be implemented to avoid further conversion:

• Establishment of a sanctioning system for group members to prevent further deforestation.

• Implementation of awareness-raising measures or training for group members.

• Collection of polygons of farms units for all group members found in the risk assessment to be at significant risk of deforestation.

Management must submit a restoration plan to the Rainforest Alliance via farmcert@ra.org. The plan shall include:

• Definition of activities to be implemented with clear time bound targets and responsibilities.

• A monitoring plan for the restored area to be implemented at least every three years.

• Polygons of the area(s) to be restored.

• List of trees species that will be planted.

• Deliver every three years progress reports to internal inspectors and auditors to review and verify if they are consistent with the restoration site status.

Note: The implementation, monitoring, and reporting of the restoration processes for smallholders within a group must be facilitated by the group management. The group management is accountable if these actions are not carried out for any affected group members, potentially resulting in non-certification or cancelation.

2.4 Planned Minor Conversion for Infrastructure

The conversion of natural ecosystems, up to 1% of the total certified land area, for the purpose of maintaining or expanding infrastructure critical to farm or processing operations may be allowed under the following conditions:

1. Conversion may take place only for the purpose of installing new farm infrastructure or repairing or modernizing existing farm infrastructure (e.g., roads or irrigation infrastructure, including pumping facilities, channels, ponds, reservoirs, dams, and impoundments), permanently installed machinery, or facilities for washing, processing, or packing.

2. Farm or group management documents the plan for the installation in advance, including the reason why the proposed infrastructure installation or repair cannot be carried out without converting the relevant area.

3. Polygons of the overall certified land as well as the converted area are collected to demonstrate that the land area to be converted is below the allowed threshold of 1% of total certified land. NB The 1% threshold is the cumulative total allowable area from the first date of application for certification.

4. Prior to converting, farm or group management must obtain approval from the Rainforest Alliance. To receive approval, management shall submit a plan to farmcert@ra.org including the reasons, plan, and polygons of the area to be converted.

5. The conversion fully complies with requirement 6.1.2 of the Rainforest Alliance Standards.

6. The conversion fully complies with applicable law.

7. The conversion is consistent with any designations or recommendations regarding High Conservation Values (HCV) contained in any HCV assessment(s) of the site or area.

8. Rainforest Alliance reserves the right to request the Certificate Holder to implement a restoration plan as described in section 2.3 on a case-by-case basis, after evaluation of the conversion plan.

9. This allowance is not available for Certificate Holders opting-in for alignment with the European Union Deforestation Regulation, if the main purpose of the minor conversion is to use the land for agricultural use and processing operations including but not limited to operating farm buildings (hangars, barns, cellars, silos etc.).  

 3. Additional Details on Non-Encroachment into Protected Areas

To assess the risk of non-compliance with requirement 6.1.2 of the standards, the Rainforest Alliance risk assessment determines the likelihood of a farm unit being situated within a protected area or its designated buffer zones, and whether agricultural production within those areas is permissible under applicable law.

The Rainforest Alliance, using the IUCN classification of protected areas, has designated “go” and “no-go” areas. In “no-go” protected areas, agricultural production is prohibited, while in “go” protected areas, agricultural activities are permitted under specific conditions and regulated by law. Based on this, three levels of risk are assigned: Low risk (green) no overlap with protected areas, medium risk (orange) overlap with “go” protected areas, and high risk (red) overlap with “no-go” protected areas.  

If farm units are identified as high risk during the risk assessment, Certificate Holders must visit all such farms during the internal inspection and collect evidence demonstrating that production did not take place within the 'no-go' protected area. The evidence must be kept during and after the audit and made available upon request by the auditors or the Rainforest Alliance. Evidence to confirm whether or not encroachment into a protected area or buffer zone has occurred may include:

• Corrected farm boundary polygons, if relevant.

• Documentation demonstrating land use and/ or legal rights in compliance with national legislation.

• Geotagged photographs, maps, other visual evidence.

• Farmer and other stakeholder interview records.

Farm units identified as medium risk shall be visited by Certificate Holders to assess whether production or processing activities happened inside the protected area and whether it complies with the applicable law. At a minimum, such producers must present the following:

• Documentation demonstrating land use and/ or legal rights in compliance with national legislation.

4. Additional Details on Conservation and Restoration Areas Outside Farm Boundaries

4.1 Conditions for Conservation or Restoration Areas Outside the Certified Farm Boundaries

The following conditions apply to continuous improvement requirements 6.2.3 and 6.2.4 of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard when achieving the required percentage of natural vegetation cover on the farm is not feasible without reducing the productive agricultural area. Producers have the option to complement the area of on-farm vegetation with conservation or restoration areas outside the farm boundaries under these conditions:

1. Producers can have conservation or restoration areas outside the farm boundaries only if they are not able to reach the required percentage of natural vegetation on their farms.

2. Producers do not convert existing natural vegetation on the farm into other land uses. Conservation areas outside farm boundaries can only be used to complement existing and additional on-farm vegetation. Eternal conservation areas cannot be used to replace on-farm vegetation.

3. Producers can have part of the required percentage of natural vegetation on their farm and a percentage of natural vegetation as conservation area outside the farm boundaries. For instance, a producer may have 5% of natural vegetation on the farm and 5% outside the farm.

4. The conservation or restoration area outside the certified farm boundaries effectively provides long-term protection of that area for at least 25 years.

5. The conservation or restoration area outside the certified farm boundaries yields additional conservation value and protection status relative to the status quo: the area is maintained or improved in terms of biodiversity value.

6. The conservation or restoration area outside the certified farm boundaries is in a similar ecosystem to the certified farm. For instance, if the certified farm is in an area where rainforest is the predominant ecosystem, the conservation area is located in an area in which rainforest is predominant.

7. Certificate Holders shall send the conservation or restoration plan including all requirements to the Rainforest Alliance at farmcert@ra.org.

4.2 Conditions for the Auditability of Conservation or Restoration Areas Outside the Certified Farm Boundaries

1. Certificate Holders provide polygon data for the conservation or restoration area(s) outside farm boundaries.

2. Certificate Holders indicate the size (ha) of the conservation or restoration area(s) as well as the percentage this represents in relation to certified farm area.

3. Certificate Holders show documentation demonstrating that the conservation or restoration area(s) can be provided with effective long-term protection for at least 25 years.

4. The auditor visits the conservation or restoration area outside farm boundaries at least once every three years. Certificate Holders pay any extra costs of auditing the conservation or restoration area outside the certified farm boundaries, e.g., for auditors to travel to the conservation or restoration area(s) for verification.

Other information

Date of first publication of this document (v 1.0): July 1^st, 2022.

Documents indicated as “binding” must be complied with for certification. Documents indicated as “non-binding” provide non-mandatory information to help readers understand and implement requirements and other binding content.

Translation Disclaimer

For any question related to the precise meaning of the information in a translation, consult the official English version for clarification. Any errors or differences in meaning due to translation are not binding and have no effect for auditing or certification purposes.

Reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of this content is strictly forbidden without prior written consent from Rainforest Alliance.

More information?

For help in obtaining a Rainforest Alliance certificate reach out to our Customer Success team at customersuccess@ra.org

For more information about Rainforest Alliance, visit http://www.rainforest-alliance.org contact info@ra.org or the Rainforest Alliance Amsterdam Office, De Ruijterkade 6, 1013AA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.