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Habitat for a dwindling population of critically endangered African forest elephants is under threat, a casualty of the world鈥檚 appetite for chocolate.

Deforestation driven by planting cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, is whittling down Omo Forest Reserve, a protected rainforest in southwestern Nigeria that helps combat climate change and is one of Africa鈥檚 oldest and largest UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. Farmers are expanding into conservation areas where cocoa farming is banned, conservation officials say.

The Associated Press spoke to 20 farmers, two brokers and five licensed buying agents who are growing and selling cocoa from the reserve to figure out where cocoa beans used in holiday sweets are heading.

Here are takeaways from AP鈥檚 investigation:

Companies get cocoa from the forest

The AP visited plantations and warehouses of farmers and licensed buying agents who acknowledge that they operate illegally in the reserve鈥檚 conservation area. AP also spoke with brokers working in the forest and visited facilities belonging to major cocoa trading companies just outside the reserve.

They say they supply Singapore-based Olam Group and Nigeria鈥檚 Starlink Global and Ideal Limited, the latter of which sends cocoa to General Cocoa in the United States. A fewer number named Tulip Cocoa Processing Limited, connected to Dutch traders.

鈥淲e buy from farmers and sell to big companies that export like Olam, Starlink,鈥� said Deborah Fabiyi, a manager at Kadet Agro-Allied Investments Limited, a licensed buying agent in the conservation area.

These big trading companies supply Nigerian cocoa to huge chocolate manufacturers like Mars Inc. and Ferrero, but because the chocolate supply chain is so complex and opaque, it鈥檚 not clear if cocoa from deforested parts of Omo Forest Reserve makes it into the sweets that they make, such as Snickers, M&Ms, Butterfinger, and Nutella. Mars and Ferrero list farming sources on their websites that are close to or overlap with the forest but offer no specific locations.

In October, the AP followed a van loaded with bags of cocoa beans from the conservation zone to an Olam warehouse outside the entrance of the forest. Olam confirmed the facility was theirs.

The AP also photographed cocoa bags labeled with the names and logo of Olam and Tulip inside farmers鈥� warehouses inside the conservation zone. In an interview with the AP, Starlink acknowledged that it gets cocoa from Omo Forest Reserve.

Reasons behind the work

An estimated 1.4 million people in Nigeria, equivalent to about half the population of Nevada, depend on cocoa production for their livelihood, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development. But aging cocoa trees are becoming less productive, pushing farmers into Omo reserve.

鈥淭he deforestation caused by cocoa expansion also stems from the world鈥檚 demand for cocoa to make chocolate,鈥� said Emmanuel Olabode, a conservation manager who supervises the reserve鈥檚 rangers. 鈥淚t is astronomical.鈥�

The rangers blame the state government that owns the forest for failing to enforce the law barring cocoa farming. Several buildings in the conservation zone, including farmers鈥� homes and warehouses, have been marked for removal by the government, but it hasn鈥檛 occurred.

The Ogun state government acknowledged 鈥渢he menace鈥� of 鈥渋llegal鈥� cocoa farming in the forest and told the AP that it had forcibly evicted the farmers in 2007 before they came back.

What do the companies say?

Olam, the Singapore-based food conglomerate says it 鈥渇orbids鈥� members of its 鈥淥re Agbe Ijebu鈥� farmer group from 鈥渟ourcing from protected areas.鈥�

鈥淎ny supplier found to be illegally deforesting will be removed from our supply chain,鈥� Olam Food Ingredients, or Ofi, said in a statement to AP, adding that it鈥檚 鈥渋nvestigating thoroughly.鈥�

The company says it visits every farm to take GPS coordinates and meets with each farmer to agree on boundaries that often aren鈥檛 marked.

Farmers who say they sell cocoa from the forest to Olam noted that they鈥檙e not members of the Ore Agbe Ijebu farming group and hadn鈥檛 heard of it.

Tulip said it鈥檚 鈥渃onfident鈥� its supplies don鈥檛 come from protected areas. It says its cocoa is certified by the Rainforest Alliance, which checks compliance with sustainability standards, and that it uses GPS mapping of farms.

Tulip鈥檚 managing director, Johan van der Merwe, said 鈥渇ield operatives鈥� complete digital questionnaires about sourcing with all farmers and suppliers. He also says Tulip鈥檚 cocoa bags are reused and distributed widely so it鈥檚 possible they鈥檙e seen across Nigeria.

Farmers and buying agents who say they sell cocoa to Tulip told AP that they weren鈥檛 required to complete any questionnaire before their cocoa is purchased.

Starlink gets cocoa from the reserve, spokesman Sambo Abubakar told AP. Although Starlink doesn鈥檛 make sustainable sourcing claims on its website, it supplies at least one company that does: General Cocoa, U.S. subsidiary of Paris-based Sucden.

Starlink has a 鈥渢raceability program to determine the quality of cocoa, know the farmers, and sensitize them on best practices,鈥� Mr. Abubakar said.

But this program hasn鈥檛 yet been extended to Omo reserve and Ogun state, he said.

Ferrero says its supplies follow 鈥渟tringent requirements鈥� that are independently certified, adding that GPS mapping and satellite monitoring of farms show its 鈥渃ocoa sourcing from Nigeria does not come from protected forest areas.鈥�

The company that makes Ferrero Rocher, Nutella, Baby Ruth, Butterfinger, and Crunch bars said that the cocoa it gets from Ofi 鈥� through the Ore Agbe Ijebu farming group 鈥� is verified by the Control Union certifying body.

The Netherlands-based body said it assessed a sample of farms against Ofi鈥檚 own sustainability policies and that 鈥渢he specific criteria and protocols established in the verification exercise are set by Ofi.鈥�

Control Union said it wouldn鈥檛 disclose the results to AP, citing privacy.

Mars says its suppliers follow its deforestation policy standards and that it鈥檚 committed to ensuring 鈥�100% of our cocoa is responsibly sourced globally and traceable to first point of purchase by 2025.鈥�

It says farms part of its Responsibly Sourced Cocoa program are 鈥渆xpected鈥� to be mapped, allowing the company behind Snickers, M&Ms, Dove, Twix, and Milky Way to hold suppliers accountable if suspected deforestation occurs.

Mars says its preliminary findings show none of the farms that have been mapped overlap with the reserve.

Jean-Baptiste Lescop, secretary general of Sucden Group, says the company manages risks to forest conservation by sourcing Rainforest Alliance cocoa, mapping farms, and using satellite images but that it鈥檚 a 鈥渃ontinuous process鈥� because most farmers in Nigeria don鈥檛 have official land ownership documents.

The company investigates reports of problems and is working on a response to AP鈥檚 findings about Starlink, he said.

The German chocolate company Ritter Sport gets cocoa from Nigeria and uses Olam but hasn鈥檛 disclosed specific locations where its supplies are sourced in Nigeria. It told AP that Olam confirmed that its supplies were outside deforested forests.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.