BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a72c383512ec DTSTART:20240819T070000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20240819T140000Z LOCATION:Pretoria\, South Africa SUMMARY:Workshop: Advancing private-public partnerships to mainstream biodi versity conservation and sustainable use in Voluntary Sustainability Stand ards CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:BackgroundVoluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms an d standards that ensure products are harvested\, produced\, processed\, or transported in accordance with certain sustainability metrics\, such as e nvironmental impact\, human rights\, labor standards\, and gender equality . Today close to 500 VSS exist\, which apply to key exports of many countr ies such as coffee\, tea\, bananas\, cocoa\, palm oil\, timber\, cotton\, spices and organic agri-foods.The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes international trade as "\;an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction."\; With VSS increasingly being reference d in trade agreements to foster sustainable development and good governanc e\, they can be an effective tool to incentivize governments and companies to adopt practices aligned with environmental\, social\, and economic obj ectives.VSS can play a vital role in biodiversity conservation\, which is emerging as one of the most pressing global issues today. Effective mechan isms like VSS are essential to shift the impact of global economic drivers on nature toward sustainably managing and conserving biodiversity and its ecosystem services.In South Africa\, the BioTrade sector is a significant contributor to the country'\;s economy and plays a crucial role in bi odiversity conservation efforts. However\, there are challenges in ensurin g that these sectors operate sustainably and contribute to the preservatio n of South Africa'\;s rich biodiversity. To address this challenge\, t he Department of Forestry\, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has been exploring the development of a Charter\, which aims to establish a public- private partnership model for effectively implementing sustainability stan dards across biodiversity value chains.Against this backdrop\, UN Trade an d Development (UNCTAD) and the Department of Forestry\, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) are jointly organizing a workshop aimed at bringing tog ether various stakeholders to share knowledge\, explore partnerships\, and develop concrete strategies for mainstreaming VSS while supporting the im plementation of the Charter and other relevant national initiatives.This o nline workshop is organized with the support of the Swiss State Secretaria t for Economic Affairs SECO under the Global BioTrade Programme “Linking trade\, biodiversity and sustainable development”. The outputs and reco mmendations from the workshop will be considered and further explored for the new trade and biodiversity programme under UNCTAD.ObjectivesExplore pu blic-private partnership models and multi-stakeholder approaches for effec tively implementing the proposed Charter across biodiversity value chains in South Africa.Facilitate knowledge sharing and peer learning on the use of VSS among BioTrade companies in South Africa\, including lessons learne d from other countries and initiatives.Identify opportunities and challeng es in mainstreaming VSS related to biodiversity conservation\, and areas w here UNCTAD can provide support and add value.Gather insights and recommen dations from stakeholders that will feed into the development of UNCTAD� 39\;s new trade and biodiversity program\, ensuring it addresses the speci fic needs and contexts of South Africa as well as other target countries.W hat will take place?This two-day workshop will take place on 19-20 August 2024. It includes in-person participation in Pretoria\, South Africa. The workshop will be conducted in English.Target audienceGovernment agenciesIn dustry associationsNGOsStandard setting organizationsBioTrade companiesInt ernational organizationsPotential representatives from other countries imp lementing BioTrade <\;h4>\;Background<\;/h4>\;<\;p>\;Voluntar y Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms and standards that ensure produ cts are harvested\, produced\, processed\, or transported in accordance wi th certain sustainability metrics\, such as environmental impact\, human r ights\, labor standards\, and gender equality. Today close to 500 VSS exis t\, which apply to key exports of many countries such as coffee\, tea\, ba nanas\, cocoa\, palm oil\, timber\, cotton\, spices and organic agri-foods .<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recogn izes international trade as "\;an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction."\; With VSS increasingly being referenced in t rade agreements to foster sustainable development and good governance\, th ey can be an effective tool to incentivize governments and companies to ad opt practices aligned with environmental\, social\, and economic objective s.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;VSS can play a vital role in biodiversity conserv ation\, which is emerging as one of the most pressing global issues today. Effective mechanisms like VSS are essential to shift the impact of global economic drivers on nature toward sustainably managing and conserving bio diversity and its ecosystem services.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;In South Afric a\, the BioTrade sector is a significant contributor to the country'\; s economy and plays a crucial role in biodiversity conservation efforts. H owever\, there are challenges in ensuring that these sectors operate susta inably and contribute to the preservation of South Africa'\;s rich bio diversity. To address this challenge\, the Department of Forestry\, Fisher ies and the Environment (DFFE) has been exploring the development of a Cha rter\, which aims to establish a public-private partnership model for effe ctively implementing sustainability standards across biodiversity value ch ains.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;Against this backdrop\, UN Trade and Developme nt (UNCTAD) and the Department of Forestry\, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) are jointly organizing a workshop aimed at bringing together vario us stakeholders to share knowledge\, explore partnerships\, and develop co ncrete strategies for mainstreaming VSS while supporting the implementatio n of the Charter and other relevant national initiatives.<\;/p>\;<\; p>\;This online workshop is organized with the support of the Swiss Stat e Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO under the Global BioTrade Programm e “Linking trade\, biodiversity and sustainable development”. The outp uts and recommendations from the workshop will be considered and further e xplored for the new trade and biodiversity programme under UNCTAD.<\;/p& gt\;<\;h4>\;Objectives<\;/h4>\;<\;ol>\;<\;li>\;Explore pub lic-private partnership models and multi-stakeholder approaches for effect ively implementing the proposed Charter across biodiversity value chains i n South Africa.<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Facilitate knowledge sharing and p eer learning on the use of VSS among BioTrade companies in South Africa\, including lessons learned from other countries and initiatives.<\;/li> \;<\;li>\;Identify opportunities and challenges in mainstreaming VSS r elated to biodiversity conservation\, and areas where UNCTAD can provide s upport and add value.<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Gather insights and recommen dations from stakeholders that will feed into the development of UNCTAD� 39\;s new trade and biodiversity program\, ensuring it addresses the speci fic needs and contexts of South Africa as well as other target countries.& lt\;/li>\;<\;/ol>\;<\;h4>\;What will take place?<\;/h4>\;< \;p>\;This two-day workshop will take place on 19-20 August 2024. It inc ludes in-person participation in Pretoria\, South Africa. The workshop wil l be conducted in English.<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Target audience<\;/h4& gt\;<\;ul>\;<\;li>\;Government agencies<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;In dustry associations<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;NGOs<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;S tandard setting organizations<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;BioTrade companies&l t\;/li>\;<\;li>\;International organizations<\;/li>\;<\;li>\ ;Potential representatives from other countries implementing BioTrade<\; /li>\;<\;/ul>\;<\;p>\;&\;nbsp\;<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;<\;im g src="\;/sites/default/files/inline-images/BioTrade-VSS-SA-logos-hori zantal-1Artboard%202.jpg"\; data-entity-uuid="\;5fedaee0-c394-4df5 -99ae-c42936d7caa8"\; data-entity-type="\;file"\; alt="\;& quot\; width="\;1024"\; height="\;137\n\nView meeting on uncta d.org\nhttps://unctad.org/node/46052 DTSTAMP:20260805T050051Z END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a72c38351328 DTSTART:20240820T070000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20240820T140000Z LOCATION:Pretoria\, South Africa SUMMARY:Workshop: Advancing private-public partnerships to mainstream biodi versity conservation and sustainable use in Voluntary Sustainability Stand ards CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:BackgroundVoluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms an d standards that ensure products are harvested\, produced\, processed\, or transported in accordance with certain sustainability metrics\, such as e nvironmental impact\, human rights\, labor standards\, and gender equality . Today close to 500 VSS exist\, which apply to key exports of many countr ies such as coffee\, tea\, bananas\, cocoa\, palm oil\, timber\, cotton\, spices and organic agri-foods.The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes international trade as "\;an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction."\; With VSS increasingly being reference d in trade agreements to foster sustainable development and good governanc e\, they can be an effective tool to incentivize governments and companies to adopt practices aligned with environmental\, social\, and economic obj ectives.VSS can play a vital role in biodiversity conservation\, which is emerging as one of the most pressing global issues today. Effective mechan isms like VSS are essential to shift the impact of global economic drivers on nature toward sustainably managing and conserving biodiversity and its ecosystem services.In South Africa\, the BioTrade sector is a significant contributor to the country'\;s economy and plays a crucial role in bi odiversity conservation efforts. However\, there are challenges in ensurin g that these sectors operate sustainably and contribute to the preservatio n of South Africa'\;s rich biodiversity. To address this challenge\, t he Department of Forestry\, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has been exploring the development of a Charter\, which aims to establish a public- private partnership model for effectively implementing sustainability stan dards across biodiversity value chains.Against this backdrop\, UN Trade an d Development (UNCTAD) and the Department of Forestry\, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) are jointly organizing a workshop aimed at bringing tog ether various stakeholders to share knowledge\, explore partnerships\, and develop concrete strategies for mainstreaming VSS while supporting the im plementation of the Charter and other relevant national initiatives.This o nline workshop is organized with the support of the Swiss State Secretaria t for Economic Affairs SECO under the Global BioTrade Programme “Linking trade\, biodiversity and sustainable development”. The outputs and reco mmendations from the workshop will be considered and further explored for the new trade and biodiversity programme under UNCTAD.ObjectivesExplore pu blic-private partnership models and multi-stakeholder approaches for effec tively implementing the proposed Charter across biodiversity value chains in South Africa.Facilitate knowledge sharing and peer learning on the use of VSS among BioTrade companies in South Africa\, including lessons learne d from other countries and initiatives.Identify opportunities and challeng es in mainstreaming VSS related to biodiversity conservation\, and areas w here UNCTAD can provide support and add value.Gather insights and recommen dations from stakeholders that will feed into the development of UNCTAD� 39\;s new trade and biodiversity program\, ensuring it addresses the speci fic needs and contexts of South Africa as well as other target countries.W hat will take place?This two-day workshop will take place on 19-20 August 2024. It includes in-person participation in Pretoria\, South Africa. The workshop will be conducted in English.Target audienceGovernment agenciesIn dustry associationsNGOsStandard setting organizationsBioTrade companiesInt ernational organizationsPotential representatives from other countries imp lementing BioTrade <\;h4>\;Background<\;/h4>\;<\;p>\;Voluntar y Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms and standards that ensure produ cts are harvested\, produced\, processed\, or transported in accordance wi th certain sustainability metrics\, such as environmental impact\, human r ights\, labor standards\, and gender equality. Today close to 500 VSS exis t\, which apply to key exports of many countries such as coffee\, tea\, ba nanas\, cocoa\, palm oil\, timber\, cotton\, spices and organic agri-foods .<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recogn izes international trade as "\;an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction."\; With VSS increasingly being referenced in t rade agreements to foster sustainable development and good governance\, th ey can be an effective tool to incentivize governments and companies to ad opt practices aligned with environmental\, social\, and economic objective s.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;VSS can play a vital role in biodiversity conserv ation\, which is emerging as one of the most pressing global issues today. Effective mechanisms like VSS are essential to shift the impact of global economic drivers on nature toward sustainably managing and conserving bio diversity and its ecosystem services.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;In South Afric a\, the BioTrade sector is a significant contributor to the country'\; s economy and plays a crucial role in biodiversity conservation efforts. H owever\, there are challenges in ensuring that these sectors operate susta inably and contribute to the preservation of South Africa'\;s rich bio diversity. To address this challenge\, the Department of Forestry\, Fisher ies and the Environment (DFFE) has been exploring the development of a Cha rter\, which aims to establish a public-private partnership model for effe ctively implementing sustainability standards across biodiversity value ch ains.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;Against this backdrop\, UN Trade and Developme nt (UNCTAD) and the Department of Forestry\, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) are jointly organizing a workshop aimed at bringing together vario us stakeholders to share knowledge\, explore partnerships\, and develop co ncrete strategies for mainstreaming VSS while supporting the implementatio n of the Charter and other relevant national initiatives.<\;/p>\;<\; p>\;This online workshop is organized with the support of the Swiss Stat e Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO under the Global BioTrade Programm e “Linking trade\, biodiversity and sustainable development”. The outp uts and recommendations from the workshop will be considered and further e xplored for the new trade and biodiversity programme under UNCTAD.<\;/p& gt\;<\;h4>\;Objectives<\;/h4>\;<\;ol>\;<\;li>\;Explore pub lic-private partnership models and multi-stakeholder approaches for effect ively implementing the proposed Charter across biodiversity value chains i n South Africa.<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Facilitate knowledge sharing and p eer learning on the use of VSS among BioTrade companies in South Africa\, including lessons learned from other countries and initiatives.<\;/li> \;<\;li>\;Identify opportunities and challenges in mainstreaming VSS r elated to biodiversity conservation\, and areas where UNCTAD can provide s upport and add value.<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Gather insights and recommen dations from stakeholders that will feed into the development of UNCTAD� 39\;s new trade and biodiversity program\, ensuring it addresses the speci fic needs and contexts of South Africa as well as other target countries.& lt\;/li>\;<\;/ol>\;<\;h4>\;What will take place?<\;/h4>\;< \;p>\;This two-day workshop will take place on 19-20 August 2024. It inc ludes in-person participation in Pretoria\, South Africa. The workshop wil l be conducted in English.<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Target audience<\;/h4& gt\;<\;ul>\;<\;li>\;Government agencies<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;In dustry associations<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;NGOs<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;S tandard setting organizations<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;BioTrade companies&l t\;/li>\;<\;li>\;International organizations<\;/li>\;<\;li>\ ;Potential representatives from other countries implementing BioTrade<\; /li>\;<\;/ul>\;<\;p>\;&\;nbsp\;<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;<\;im g src="\;/sites/default/files/inline-images/BioTrade-VSS-SA-logos-hori zantal-1Artboard%202.jpg"\; data-entity-uuid="\;5fedaee0-c394-4df5 -99ae-c42936d7caa8"\; data-entity-type="\;file"\; alt="\;& quot\; width="\;1024"\; height="\;137\n\nView meeting on uncta d.org\nhttps://unctad.org/node/46052 DTSTAMP:20260805T050051Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR