6th BioTrade Congress: Trade and biodiversity for a positive future

Dear participants,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The health of our planet derives greatly from the richness of biodiversity. And this richness is also a major contributor to the global economy. According to the WEF, almost half of the world’s GDP – approximately U$ 44 trillion – depends on biodiversity and its ecosystem services.

This means that we must decouple economic growth from environmental degradation to build resilient livelihoods and economies. Trade policy must also play its part.

Trade policies specifically related to biodiversity-based goods and services can promote sustainable consumption and production, as they can: 

• Foster and incentivize the sustainable use of biodiversity to generate economic security for livelihoods;
• Engage the private sector on biodiversity conservation and its sustainable use;
• Channel additional financial resources into biodiversity and support its mainstreaming; and
• Contribute to the elimination of perverse incentives to biodiversity, such as fish and fuel subsidies.

Taking care of nature must be the future, and there are encouraging signs that this actually happens. We have seen important shifts in consumer behaviour which promote opportunities for sustainable, natural and ethically sourced goods and services. A recent IBM study found that 77 percent of surveyed consumers feel good when buying products from companies that respect biodiversity and people; and nearly 60 percent of consumers are willing to change their shopping habits to reduce environmental impact.

Several conventions and international agreements path the way towards preserving our biodiversity. For instance, the implementation of the Nagoya Protocol, through national access and benefit-sharing (ABS) measures and mechanisms, ensures benefit-sharing in the use of genetic resources between providers and users of these resources. It also ensures fair and equitable incentives to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity which can contribute to development and human well-being.

BioTrade fits very well into this landscape. Trade in biodiversity-based goods - if done sustainably, legally and traceably - can contribute to nature protection, enable people to thrive and make their economies more resilient to economic and environmental shocks. 

To tap its potential, a transformational change is needed at all levels and sectors. In particular, an enabling policy environment is required. Efforts are also needed to assist developing countries with financial resources, capacity and technology, and address their trade-related constraints.

What can UNCTAD offer?

Following the 1992 Earth Summit, UNCTAD launched the BioTrade Initiative to promote trade and investment in biodiversity under social, economic and environmental sustainability criteria.

We developed the BioTrade Principles and Criteria. These are a set of sustainable guidelines for the sourcing, processing and commercialization of biodiversity-based goods and services. They support governments and companies in conducting biodiversity-friendly trade while contributing to the achievement of the SDGs and multilateral environmental agreements.

The BioTrade concept, principles and criteria and programmes, are now a reality for millions of beneficiaries in over 80 countries across the world.

With growing consumer preference for biodiversity-friendly products and services, this market is expected to grow further. Global sales of BioTrade goods already increased from U$40 million in 2003 to over U$10.2 billion in 2020. 

Our new mandate – the Bridgetown Covenant – recognizes biodiversity loss as one of the key challenges for sustainable development, and points out the change required to develop and implement effective approaches to trade policies and measures in line with relevant international rules. 

The work of UNCTAD’s BioTrade Initiative and its partners has been recognized in the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora in areas such as mainstreaming biodiversity, private sector engagement, cooperation, and sustainable wildlife management.

Several specifically related projects and programmes have resulted over the years. For example, last year we launched the Blue BioTrade project which empowers small-scale coastal producers in the Caribbean to produce and trade queen conch products under the BioTrade principles and criteria.

We look forward to continuing partnering with countries and institutions in this area of work. This is more important than ever, as the COVID-19 pandemic has clearly shown how interconnected human health is with the health of our planet and economic growth.

Thank you for your attention.