Cooperation with UNCTAD's BioTrade Initiative
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) BioTrade Initiative has solid experience of using trade to create incentives for increased investment in the sustainable use of natural resources, especially biodiversity.
By working with various Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), BioTrade has developed the capacity to provide guidance on how to use trade to safeguard biodiversity and its sustainable use in various ecosystems.
The Global Mechanism (GM) is looking at BioTrade’s approach as a way of promoting sustainable land management (SLM) through trade and private sector engagement.
The GM’s work with BioTrade is twofold. On one side, the GM Market Access and Trade programme and BioTrade are reviewing BioTrade’s methodological approach with a view to integrating SLM and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) issues into BioTrade national implementation structures, products and product selection criteria, and developing sustainable management methodologies. On the other side, pilot projects are exploring opportunities for promoting dryland products within the framework of BioTrade’s country programmes in Ecuador, the Andean Region and Uganda.
At a more strategic level, GM-BioTrade collaboration is fostering synergies with other MEAs, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), to streamline their approaches on trade, incentive measures and private sector engagement related issues.
| Contribution of BioTrade products to SLM 1. BioTrade refers to native species, that is, the species that naturally inhabit an area. These species are well adapted to their environment and are able to resist the specific challenges that dryland ecosystems can pose. Native species therefore require lower agricultural inputs (such as water, fertilizer or pesticides), meaning that negative impacts on soil quality are also lower. 2. BioTrade seeks to promote the long-term integration of local communities into natural product supply chains, by generating income for these communities and increasing their standard of living. Incentives to safeguard communities’ livelihoods are provided, and investments are channelled towards sustainable practices. In this context, emphasis is placed on equitable benefit sharing. 3. BioTrade seeks to ensure that the trade of natural products contributes to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. The BioTrade Principles and Criteria guide actors involved in a particular supply chain towards these objectives. A closer analysis of the BioTrade verification framework used to evaluate BioTrade practices reveals that a number of principles, criteria and indicators are particularly relevant to SLM. In addition, SLM-tailored tools and methodologies for sustainable use are being explored to complement the ongoing BioTrade verification framework. |
For more information, please contact:
Ms Eleonora Canigiani, Trade & Markets Strategy Officer
Tel. +39 06 5459 2734
e.canigiani (at) global-mechanism.org