Trade Day at Convention on Biological Diversity COP16

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More than half the world’s population – over 4.3 billion people – depends on biodiversity for their livelihoods, with 70 per cent of the world’s poor and vulnerable living in rural areas depending directly on it. However, up to 40 per cent of world’s land is degraded, one million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction, and biodiversity loss is projected to accelerate through 2050.  

International trade is an indispensable component of our global economy but has been traditionally associated with negative impacts on nature. With 55 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP), around $58 trillion dependent on nature, trade can and should be harnessed to protect it. Specifically, trade policies must be crafted to the objectives of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) to halt nature loss, restore biodiversity and help countries achieve their sustainable social and economic objectives.

Trade can support the delivery of all the 23 targets under the KMGBF through various instruments and related measures. For example, these are preferential tariffs and market access for biodiversity-friendly products and services, voluntary sustainability standards (VSS), guidelines (e.g. BioTrade Principles and Criteria), mandatory environmental requirements, green government procurement and sustainable and biodiversity-friendly management practices, among others.

The UN Trade and Development’s BioTrade initiative has shown that sustainable, legal, and traceable trade can be a key element to conserve biodiversity and ecosystems and support local communities’ livelihoods.

The first ever thematic day on trade will take place on 26^th October 2024 at the GBF Pavilion, organized under the Sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 16) in Cali, Colombia.

The ‘Trade Day’ is co-organized by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) Secretariats and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), in collaboration with other partners.

At CBD COP16, the Trade Day aims to facilitate and advance discussions among negotiators and stakeholders on potential pathways, best practices and solutions for trade and trade-related policies to address biodiversity loss and implement the goals and targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF). Similarly, it will draw attention to biodiversity protection and restoration as well as sustainable and inclusive development.

Interactio Panel

Hosted at the GBF Pavilion located in the Blue Zone of the CBD COP 16, the Trade Day programme will hold a high-level opening session followed by thematic sessions that will cover the following topics:

• trade in support of achieving the KMGBF’s goals and targets
• trade for inclusive and sustainable social development
• trade commodities in terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems
• trade in innovative and specialized markets

Trade Day activities will also feature a Hub for informal exchanges on topics related to trade and biodiversity. This space will be open on 24th October from 9:00 to 17:30 at the UN Hub coordinated by the United Nations Environmental Management Group (EMG) Secretariat located in Place Quebec (Blue Zone). The Hub will host 11 sessions, each lasting 40 minutes, covering topics such as standards, trade-related policies and measures, statistics, nature-positive trade for sustainable agriculture, sustainable consumption and production, circular economy, among others.

• CBD COP16 Delegates
• Government agencies/policy makers working in the areas of trade, environment, biodiversity, and development.  
• Experts and practitioners in the areas of trade, environment, biodiversity and development  
• United Nations agencies, NGOs, development agencies and other international organizations working on biodiversity, sustainable development, climate change, and trade projects.  
• Private sector including biodiversity-based companies
• Women and Youth representatives
• Indigenous peoples’ associations, cooperatives and local communities and relevant constituencies
• Business associations, trade associations including chambers of commerce
• Academia
• Biodiversity-based entrepreneurs and start-ups
• Social and solidarity economy entities and networks  

UN Trade and Development is co-organizing Trade Day under the Global BioTrade programme: Linking trade, biodiversity and sustainable development launched in 2018 with the support of the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO.