“In the case of deforestation, local stakeholders are often assumed to be small, local actors. But sometimes they are very large operators such as soy farmers and palm oil plantations. In this case they are local, but they’re not small, and they’re also quite powerful economically and pretty sophisticated technologically. The stakeholders who influence them are the companies that they sell to and buy from. You can influence them through their input sourcing, through their traders, and through the regulators. The bigger you are as an operation, the more of a problem it is if you have illegality in anything that you’re doing – environmentally, or with respect to labor, pesticide management, and the like.”
Background
David Cleary is responsible for The Nature Conservancy’s global agriculture strategy, focusing on key conservation issues like water use, food security, deforestation, and sustainability. He also manages a small number of high-level strategic partnerships with agribusiness multinationals, from the CEO level down. He has long experience with beef and soy supply chains in South America