[Isabel Nepstad]

Question 1.
As an auditor, when conducting a ProTerra MRV audit and verifying the compliance with the deforestation cut-off date of the standard, being December 31, 2020, or earlier, I would request to see documents that demonstrate compliance to local regulations, such as environmental licenses, land titles, and boundaries with historical maps, geospatial data and satellite imagery and verify accuracy of GIS monitoring and deforestation polygons. When assessing deforestation, auditors shall use satellite imagery of adequate resolution. In those areas where context-specific data is available, it should be used, e.g. PRODES Amazon, PRODES Cerrado.

Question 2.
When dealing with suppliers with no traceability information in relation to the deforestation cut-off date of the Standard, at a minimum, organizations shall know the location of the sourcing area and assess, based on publicly available information, the risk of deforestation and human rights abuses in these regions associated with the purchased commodity or product. Based on the risk characteristics, the organization shall develop a plan that prioritizes the very high and high-risk areas to bring these suppliers to a traceable level. An assessment will be made by reviewing sourcing regions based on public lists or official information on the occurrence of environmental embargoes or crimes, slave and child labor, conflicts with Indigenous or traditional communities, and deforestation.

Question 3.
Based on the reading material: ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH, AND SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR ANNUAL CROP PRODUCTION – World Bank, the top 4 environmental issues associated to agricultural activity include soil conservation and management including nutrient management and crop residue and solid waste management, but also soil degradation and erosion management; water resource management; biodiversity conservation and greenhouse gas emissions.