BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:unctad.org BEGIN:VEVENT UID:6a72cc5ad9038 DTSTART:20231215T013000Z SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE DTEND:20231215T103000Z LOCATION:Hanoi\, Viet Nam SUMMARY:Workshop: Applying Voluntary Sustainability Standards in achieving biodiversity goals CLASS:PUBLIC DESCRIPTION:BackgroundVoluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) are norms an d standards that are used to ensure that a product is harvested\, produced \, processed or transported in accordance with certain sustainability metr ics\, such as environmental impact\, basic human rights\, labour standards and gender equality. Today close to 500 VSS exist\, which apply to key ex ports of many countries such as coffee\, tea\, bananas\, cocoa\, palm oil\ , timber\, cotton\, spices and organic agri-foods.The 2030 Agenda for Sust ainable Development gives international trade a prominent role as “an en gine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction”. With VSS incr easingly being referenced in trade agreements to foster sustainable develo pment and good governance\, VSS can be an effective tool to provide incent ives for governments and companies to adopt practices that are in line wit h environmental\, social and economic objectives.To this end\, VSS can als o play a vital role in biodiversity conservation. Biodiversity loss is acc elerating at a record pace\, in including marine\, wetland\, grassland and forest ecosystems. It is among the global top threats according to the Wo rld Economic Forum and the trade of unsustainable production and consumpti on patterns of biodiversity based products and services have been identifi ed as one of the indirect drivers of biodiversity loss in a report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Se rvices (IPBES). Effective tools and mechanisms are therefore essential to shifting the impact of global economic drivers on nature toward sustainabl y managing and conserving biodiversity and its ecosystems services.Against this backdrop  United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTA D)\, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation (Helvetas) and the Biotrade project o f the Center for Rural Economy Development (CRED)\,  are jointly organizi ng a workshop aimed at fostering the uptake of sustainability standards an d tools across supply chains. The event will convene a diverse range of st akeholders including government\, companies\, producers\, traders\, certif iers\, and others who share the common concern of sustainability issues. T he workshop is organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture in Viet Nam (PSAV).UNCTAD’s work on VSS is developed under the Global BioTr ade Programme “Linking trade\, biodiversity and sustainable development ” funded by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO. The o utputs and recommendations from the workshop will be considered and furthe r explored for the new trade and biodiversity programme under UNCTAD.Objec tivesProvide recommendations to develop a supportive national regulatory f ramework that enables the use of standards in certification processes.Incr ease awareness on the importance of the VSS and their role in supporting t he development of sustainable supply chains and facilitating international trade of biodiversity-based products.Provide knowledge on international s tandards as an effective tool for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity as well as support livelihoods.Facilitate strengthening of pu blic- private partnerships to promote the integration of sustainability st andards in supply chains.What will take place? This one-day hybrid worksh op will take place on 15 December 2023. It includes in-person participatio n at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Hanoi Viet Nam and will also be streamed onl ine. The workshop will be conducted in Vietnamese and English with simulta neous interpretation. Target audienceGovernment agencies working in the a reas of trade\, environment\, biodiversity including Ministry of Agricultu re and Rural Development (MARD)\, Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT)\, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)Cooperatives\, chambe rs of commerce\, social enterprises\, business associations in Viet Nam wh ich promote the interests of these businesses\, foster economic growth\, a nd facilitate trade and commerce within the region.United Nations agencies \, NGOs\, development agencies and other international organization workin g on biodiversity\, climate change\, and trade projects.Standard organizat ions and auditors BioTrade/biotrade companies European Union-based compani es operating in Vietnam that import biodiversity-focused products.<\;h4& gt\;Background<\;/h4>\;<\;p>\;Voluntary Sustainability Standards ( VSS) are norms and standards that are used to ensure that a product is har vested\, produced\, processed or transported in accordance with certain su stainability metrics\, such as environmental impact\, basic human rights\, labour standards and gender equality. Today close to 500 VSS exist\, whic h apply to key exports of many countries such as coffee\, tea\, bananas\, cocoa\, palm oil\, timber\, cotton\, spices and organic agri-foods.<\;/p >\;<\;p>\;The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development gives internat ional trade a prominent role as “an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction”. With VSS increasingly being referenced in trade agreements to foster sustainable development and good governance\, VSS ca n be an effective tool to provide incentives for governments and companies to adopt practices that are in line with environmental\, social and econo mic objectives.<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;To this end\, VSS can also play a vi tal role in biodiversity conservation. Biodiversity loss is accelerating a t a record pace\, in including marine\, wetland\, grassland and forest eco systems. It is among the global top threats according to the World Economi c Forum and the trade of unsustainable production and consumption patterns of biodiversity based products and services have been identified as one o f the indirect drivers of biodiversity loss in a report by the Intergovern mental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPB ES). Effective tools and mechanisms are therefore essential to shifting th e impact of global economic drivers on nature toward sustainably managing and conserving biodiversity and its ecosystems services.<\;/p>\;<\;p >\;Against this backdrop &\;nbsp\;United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)\, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation (Helvetas) and the Biotrade project of the Center for Rural Economy Development (CRED)\, &\;nbsp\;are jointly organizing a workshop aimed at fostering the uptak e of sustainability standards and tools across supply chains. The event wi ll convene a diverse range of stakeholders including government\, companie s\, producers\, traders\, certifiers\, and others who share the common con cern of sustainability issues. The workshop is organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Partnership for Sustainable Agriculture in Viet Nam (PSAV).<\;/p>\;<\;p>\;UNC TAD’s work on VSS is developed under the Global BioTrade Programme “Li nking trade\, biodiversity and sustainable development” funded by the Sw iss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO. The outputs and recommend ations from the workshop will be considered and further explored for the n ew trade and biodiversity programme under UNCTAD.<\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;O bjectives<\;/h4>\;<\;ul>\;<\;li>\;Provide recommendations to d evelop a supportive national regulatory framework that enables the use of standards in certification processes.<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Increase awa reness on the importance of the VSS and their role in supporting the devel opment of sustainable supply chains and facilitating international trade o f biodiversity-based products.<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Provide knowledge o n international standards as an effective tool for the conservation and su stainable use of biodiversity as well as support livelihoods.<\;/li>\; <\;li>\;Facilitate strengthening of public- private partnerships to pr omote the integration of sustainability standards in supply chains.<\;/l i>\;<\;/ul>\;<\;h4>\;What will take place?&\;nbsp\;<\;/h4&g t\;<\;p>\;This one-day hybrid workshop will take place on 15 December 2023. It includes in-person participation at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Hano i Viet Nam and will also be streamed online. The workshop will be conducte d in Vietnamese and English with simultaneous interpretation.&\;nbsp\;& lt\;/p>\;<\;h4>\;Target audience<\;/h4>\;<\;ul>\;<\;li>\ ;Government agencies working in the areas of trade\, environment\, biodive rsity including Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)\, Min istry of Industry and Trade (MOIT)\, Ministry of Natural Resources and Env ironment (MONRE)<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;Cooperatives\, chambers of commer ce\, social enterprises\, business associations in Viet Nam which promote the interests of these businesses\, foster economic growth\, and facilitat e trade and commerce within the region.<\;/li>\;<\;li>\;United Nat ions agencies\, NGOs\, development agencies and other international organi zation working on biodiversity\, climate change\, and trade projects.<\; /li>\;<\;li>\;Standard organizations and auditors <\;/li>\;<\; li>\;BioTrade/biotrade companies <\;/li>\;<\;li>\;European Union -based companies operating in Vietnam that import biodiversity-focused pro ducts.<\;/li>\;<\;/ul>\;\n\nView meeting on unctad.org\nhttps://un ctad.org/meeting/workshop-applying-voluntary-sustainability-standards-achi eving-biodiversity-goals DTSTAMP:20260805T053834Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR