News

Unsustainable trade is behind the biodiversity crisis threatening our existence. But done sustainably, international commerce can help protect our planet’s precious resources.

The sustainable use and trade of indigenous plants has created valuable economic opportunities for 2,500 Namibian women and their communities.

By UNCTAD Economists

By Rachid Bouhia, Economist, UNCTAD, and Emily Wilkinson, Researcher, ODI

Guidelines to help governments, companies and consumers benefit from sustainable trade in precious plants and animals now include elements such as climate resilience and marine biodiversity.

Services sector remains hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic, dropping to levels last seen in the 1990s, nowcasts from UNCTAD's 2020 Handbook of Statistics show.

By Bruno Antunes, Economist, UNCTAD

A new call to action urges countries to make BioTrade a lever for recovery and resilience in the wake of the pandemic.

The project is a point of convergence for conservation and sustainable use of marine resources, and a driver for a blue and green recovery from COVID-19.

UNCTAD estimates that for every $1 million lost in international tourism revenue, a country’s national income could drop by up to $3 million. The effects on employment could be dramatic.