1.5 Is the VC environmentally sustainable?
Environmental performance of the VC operations is assessed taking stock of the damage entailed by the VC operations on Resource depletion, Ecosystem quality and Human health, and of their contribution to Climate Change, and appraising the risks on Biodiversity.
The approach to evaluate the environmental sustainability of the value chain is twofold (figure 1), based on the quantitative Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) accompanied by an exploratory assessment of biodiversity risks.
Figure 1: Overview of the environmental analysis
The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA – ISO normed) multi- criteria approach measures resources used and substances emitted throughout all the stages of the VC (figure 2). It is done by using specific software. The SimaPro software which is convenient and largely shared among the community of LCA analysts in the tropical agriculture sector, has been selected for use by the VCA4D teams.
Figure 2: Framework for a Life Cycle Assessment
Whenever appropriate, LCA may be supplemented for any of the three areas of protection, by empirical in situ observations and examination of the consequences of practices at any stage of the VC.
The aim of the exploratory assessment of biodiversity is to warn against potential risks to biodiversity, which may lead to the recommendation of performing an in-depth assessment of the impact of the VC.
The reasoning is fuelled by three steps:
• examining the spatial organisation, and fish stocks, related to the activities of the VC, for a first identification of the risk situations;
• searching for the practices and perceptions that could threaten biodiversity;
• taking stock of the actions and policies promoting the preservation of biodiversity in the territories concerned.
As part of collaboration with VCA4D project, for each value chain study, the Joint Research Center (JRC) will contribute to the biodiversity assessment by scaling existing data to the relevant area for the VC and providing a cartographic synthesis. This work will be carried out within the framework of the DOPA (Digital Observatory for Protected Areas) and will be completed according to specific questions raised by the team of experts.
Core questions:
CQ4.1. What is the potential damage of the VC on resource depletion?
CQ4.2. What is the potential damage of VC on ecosystem quality?
CQ4.3. What is the potential damage of the VC on human health?
CQ4.4. What is the potential impact of the VC on climate change?
CQ4.5. Does the potential impact of the VC on biodiversity deserve specific studies?