Context
Businesses can play an important role in combating the causes of biodiversity loss. On the one hand, the services provided by nature are at the basis of many economic processes. On the other hand, economic activity alters biodiversity and ecosystems- and often degrades them.
A promising approach is to promote biodiversity-friendly production and commercialization. This involves analyzing value chains and identifying opportunities to reinforce positive impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems, and/or reduce negative ones. The subsequent transformation process aims at improving those activities in a way that preserves and strengthens biological diversity, while simultaneously reducing costs and risks for businesses.
Despite its potential, this approach is not yet widely used or known. It is important to identify new opportunities to promote and finance biodiversity-friendly production and commercialization.
Brief description
The global project Private Business Action for Biodiversity pursues to identify, analyze and test promising approaches, methods and tools for promoting biodiversity-friendly production and commercialization; to test and learn from their implementation to further develop them where required; and to systematize the experiences gained in a way that enables both private and public actors to use them. In the orientation phase, promising approaches and experiences in the areas of capacity development, impact monitoring, management tools, traceability and financing mechanisms were identified in Brazil, India and Mexico in the agriculture and forestry sectors.
In the implementation phase, selected methods and instruments will be tested and further developed, using models, and focusing especially on small and medium-sized enterprises:
Brazil: The project develops good practices for the collection of carnauba wax and establishes a multi-stakeholder initiative on sustainable carnauba. In addition, the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) is testing an impact monitoring system for ecosystem services on areas on which açaí fruits are collected or cultivated.
India: In the cultivation of spices (cardamom, nutmeg, pepper, cinnamon and chili) in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, the project promotes the adaptation and testing of biodiversity action plans in (small) farming enterprises as a methodological approach.
Mexico: The project sets up a monitoring system for the biodiversity-friendly production of agave products, in which the costs are integrated into the production process. The aim is also to improve the protection of bats as agave pollinators.
Multiplier effect
The experience gained in the implementation of the methods and instruments should support biodiversity-friendly production and commercialization on a broad scale. The instruments were chosen in such a way that they are both scalable and transferable to other sectors and locations and make a concrete contribution to the current debate on mainstreaming biodiversity at national and international level. The pilot interventions in Brazil, India and Mexico also serve as a "reality check" to ensure that international strategies can also be implemented at national and local level.
To this end, the project works along value chains with a broad network of producers, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers and larger companies, certifiers, business & biodiversity initiatives, research institutions and civil society organizations.