Experts discussed the role that sustainable trade could play within the post-2020 global biodiversity framework and its implementation.
El online workshop was held on 24 March 2021, within the framework of the Global BioTrade Facilitation Programme of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), with the financial support of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The term "Biotrade"Refers to the supply and marketing of goods and services derived from a country's biodiversity, such as the cultivation of pink conch in the Caribbean.
The illegal wildlife trade is a multi-billion-dollar activity that is accelerating biodiversity loss, with an estimated one million plant and animal species now at risk of extinction, according to a United Nations report. The threat is not only ecosystem collapse, but also an increased risk of new pandemics such as COVID-19.
The guidelines, first created in 2007, set out how the Earth's natural resources can be traded in an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable manner.
Under this framework, the meeting brought together more than 180 participants, including government negotiators, business representatives and other interested parties, who explored the interrelationship between trade, biodiversity and the post-2020 global situation.
According to the workshop report, legal and sustainable trade in biodiversity-based products and services “creates incentives for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use and benefit-sharing, supports cross-sectoral cooperation, mobilizes resources and increases awareness of biodiversity.” It also promotes sustainable consumption and production patterns and supports the livelihoods of communities dependent on natural resources.
The Four group discussions They focused on legal and sustainable trade as a form of business engagement, measuring trade and biodiversity, rules for trade and biodiversity, and achieving legal and sustainable trade through the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
recommendations They included:
- Leverage the interest of the business community to engage with the framework by: using business-friendly language; providing the space for business platforms, networks and associations to engage in the development, implementation and review of the framework; and incorporating business engagement into National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs).
- Design the monitoring framework that would serve multiple purposes at global, regional and national levels, and would include: conducting ex ante assessments; informing environmental impact assessments (EIAs) and strategic environmental assessments of trade policies; and ensuring that trade and biodiversity-related information is part of global and national monitoring guidelines.
- Use trade and biodiversity standards and guidelines to help raise consumer and business awareness of biodiversity, and contribute to outreach and communication, as well as capacity building, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) along value chains.
The objectives are to make trade more sustainable and to ensure that the post-2020 global biodiversity framework addresses the generation of positive incentives. Also, that recognize the importance of trade in supporting sustainable use and management of biodiversity and improve legal frameworks, even for trade rules and for the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol (on access to genetic resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from their utilization) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, on access and benefit-sharing.
Participants recognized that, if conducted legally and sustainably, trade can contribute to a successful post-2020 global biodiversity framework, and emphasized that BioTrade Principles and Criteria could serve as a “compass” for commitment to the global biodiversity project in the coming years.
In addition, experts noted two approaches in the BioTrade Principles and Criteria that are “not highlighted much” but should be reflected in the updated zero draft: 1) the value chain approach and 2) the adaptive management approach.
The post-2020 global biodiversity framework is expected to be adopted at the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Kunming, China, currently scheduled for October 2021.
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