Trade Day at Convention on Biological Diversity COP16

Overview 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 (GBF) – The Biodiversity Plan – 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 Plan 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.