UEBT Meetings on ABS and Biodiversity

From May 4-5 in Paris, the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) hosted a back-to-back experts meeting on access and benefit sharing (ABS) and biotrade and a conference on "The Strategic Importance of Biodiversity: The Beauty of Sourcing with Respect". Participants in the experts meeting included, among others, Natural Justice associate Dan Robinson (University of New South Wales), Claudio Chiarolla (Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations), Sonia Pena Moreno (IUCN Global Policy Unit), and Pierre du Plessis (CRIAA, Namibia). They explored the links between ABS and biotrade, particularly cross-cutting issues such as traditional knowledge, fair trade, and corporate social responsibility.

The conference on May 5 was directed primarily towards companies engaged in "ethical biotrade practices" and included some discussion of the Nagoya Protocol on ABS. UEBT also launched the latest version of its "Biodiversity Barometer", which helps track awareness of biodiversity issues among consumers and the business sector. More information is available in the conference report and on the UEBT website.