The Round Table on Responsible Soy (RTRS) is a civil society organization that promotes the production, processing and marketing of responsible soy globally. It aims to promote sustainable production to reduce the social and environmental impacts of soybeans. The RTRS Responsible Soy Production Map is created based on RTRS Standards, and is intended to guide responsible expansion of soybean production for RTRS certification. The RTRS committed to create macro-scale maps for Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay to identify and preserve critical ecosystems and High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs), as well as identify opportunities for responsible expansion of soy with low levels of environmental impact. The process began in Brazil in 2012, followed by Paraguay in 2013. Additional national level maps (e.g. Argentina) are in development.
These national maps are created by RTRS National Technical Groups in each country, with experts representing all levels of the supply chain to interpret the global methodology at the national level. Each group was led by local coordinators and supported by GIS companies and consultative groups, as well as BACP (IFC), IDH, 3Fi, WWF and The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the principal funders of this project.
The guides were developed according to Annex 4: RTRS approach to responsible conversion, page 20, of the RTRS Production Standard. The macro-scale maps show the four different categories described in Guide 4 of the Standard, and the High Conservation Value Areas assessment guides for determination and management of HCVAs.
The categories are as follows:
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Areas which are critical for biodiversity (hotspots), where stakeholders agree there should not be any conversion of native to responsible soy production.
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Areas with high importance for biodiversity where expansion of soy is only carried out after an HCVA assessment which identifies areas for conservation and areas where expansion can occur.
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Areas where existing legislation is adequate to control responsible expansion (usually areas with importance for agriculture and lower conservation).
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Areas which are already used for agriculture and where there is no remaining native vegetation except legal reserves and so no further expansion is occurring.
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Areas deforested after 2009.
