New UEBT Brief on Nagoya Protocol

As the Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity on Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) is ratified by more and more nations, it is important that stakeholders understand its implications. To help businesses, and especially companies using biodiversity to develop food and personal care products, Natural Justice-partner the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) has released a technical brief on the provisions of the Nagoya Protocol. 

The brief begins by describing the overall purpose of the Nagoya Protocol and outlining the types of activities that will be impacted by its implementation. It then discusses changes to existing ABS requirements and details which countries will be establishing measures for ABS under the Protocol. It concludes by focusing on the specific implications for natural ingredients in food and personal care products. 

A report on the brief by CosmeticsDesign.com can be found here. The brief can be downloaded here.

New Publication and Website from UNDP-GEF

The Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has published a major report on the work done since the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 to support communities and civil society organisations in their efforts to implement environment-cum-development initiatives entitled "20 Years: Community Action for the Global Environment." It has also released a new website, www.biodiversity-products.com, which showcases biodiversity products produced by partners of the SGP. 

The publication tracks the work of communities and affiliated organisations who have partnered with the GEF SGP to blend conservation and development. It describes itself as "a celebration of two decades of communities and civil society organizations proving themselves capable of the task, of their hard work, of the risks they took together with their partners and supporters, and of all SGP stakeholders demonstrating that sustainable development can be achieved."

The website, which currently features GEF SGP grantees in Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, will eventually have global scope. The site defines biodiversity products as any "consumable, useable, artistic, or medicinal remedy created from the wealth of biodiversity." The website offers visitors the opportunity to join an online community focused on biodiversity products and also enables visitors to search for biodiversity products by classification, nation or region. 

Find the GEF SGP summary of "20 Years: Community Action for the Global Environment" here and download it here. The biodiversity products website can be accessed here and products searched for here. 

UEBT Hiring Project Officer

The Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT), a Natural Justice partner on work around communities, dialogue and biotrade, is seeking a Project Officer on Business and Biodiversity Policy Implementation. The Project Officer will “work closely with other UEBT staff to provide support to companies developing systems and procedures on issues such as community engagement, contribution to local development and access and benefit sharing (ABS).” 

For more information on the position and how to apply, visit UEBT’s page here.

Public-Private Exchange on ABS in Mozambique

From 24-26 July, Gino Cocchiaro of Natural Justice participated in the Public-Private Exchange on ABS Implementation for the Southern Africa Region, which took place in Maputo, Mozambique. The meeting was jointly organized by the ABS Capacity Development Initiative, Phytotrade Africa and the Union for Ethical Biotrade. The meeting followed Phytotrade Africa's Annual General Meeting and was attended by representatives from the South African government, companies, co-operatives, associations, research and other organizations involved in biotrade and natural products’ research, development and commercialization. The focus of the discussion was on the practical methods of implementation of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing in the SADC region.

Natural Justice presented on its work with communities involved in ABS and biotrade, which includes the development of specific biocultural community protocols, assisting in biocultural dialogues and supporting biotrade.

UEBT Publication on Biocultural Dialogues

The Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT) has released a new publication documenting UEBT’s experience with biocultural dialogues in access and benefit sharing. The publication is based on experiences from three case studies in Madagascar, Brazil and Peru where local communities and member companies of UEBT were supported in engaging in biocultural dialogues by Natural Justice, UEBT and GIZ. 

The publication highlights the importance of community reflection in grounding biocultural dialogues. It then articulates how communities, local suppliers, international companies and other actors can be engaged in the dialogues. UEBT is considering how biocultural dialogues can be used by communities and companies engaging in ethical biotrade and is developing a training manual to guide further biocultural dialogues by members. 

The full publication can be downloaded here. A report on the review meeting of the biocultural dialogue partnership between UEBT, Natural Justice and GIZ can be found here.

Introducing Biocultural Dialogues

On the 1st and 2nd of March, Natural Justice, the Union on Ethical Biotrade (UEBT) and GIZ hosted a meeting in Cape Town, South Africa to review a joint project on Biocultural Dialogues in Ethical Biotrade. The project focused on three pilot biotrade case studies of community-private sector dialogues in Madagascar, Peru and Brazil in 2011. The review meeting was led by Maria Julia Oliva (UEBT), Barbara Lassen (GIZ) and Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) who facilitated the process of unearthing the lessons from the case studies for future work on Biocultural Dialogues. Gino Cocchiaro (Natural Justice) and Bern Guri (Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Development) presented further case studies involving dialogues with the private sector by traditional healers of Bushbuckridge (South Africa) and the Shea Nut harvesters of Ghana.

Participants included facilitators from Peru (Gabriela Salinas), Brazil (Luciana Alves) and Madagascar (Rina Razankolona) as well as international experts on biotrade and Access and Benefit Sharing from Brazil, Marcelo Salazar, (Instituto Socioambiental), Pierre du Plessis (CRIAA‐SA DC), Bern Guri (Center for Indigenous Knowledge and Development) and Kabir Bavikatte (Natural Justice). The project aimed to assess the potential role of Biocultural Dialogues as a tool to facilitate and strengthen community engagement with the private sector in ethical sourcing practices. 

The project sought to evaluate and further elaborate on the applicability of Biocultural Community Protocols in the first stage and Biocultural Dialogues in the second stage of biotrade supply chains and potentially Access and Benefit Sharing. The meeting concluded with the sketching of a framework for a Biocultural Dialogue approach as the second step after communities have embarked on the development of their Biocultural Community Protocols and a summary of the next steps for the project as a whole.

Third Biotrade Pilot in Vohimana, Madagascar

From 9-10 November, the last of three pilots linking the use of elements of biocultural community protocols (BCPs) in a Ethical BioTrade context took place in Vohimana, Madagascar. The series of pilots is part of a joined project between the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT), GIZ, and Natural Justice aiming to explore the use of BCPs as a means to support UEBT members to strengthen their relationships with the local communities from whom they source natural ingredients. Vohimana is a 1600-hectare (ha) experimental reserve created by the NGO L'Homme et L'Environment. The area is a biodiversity hotspot and is divided into an 800 ha conservation zone, a reforestation zone, a production zone, and a residential area where several villages are located. In addition to conservation and restoration, the aim of the reserve is to generate sustainable livelihoods through promoting a range of activities that support the local communities to use the area sustainably. The activities include the promotion of a number of small micro-businesses ranging from eco-tourism to the production of essential oils used as ingredients for cosmetics.

Second Pilot Study on Enhancing Community Dialogue with UEBT

On 26 July, a second pilot testing the use of certain elements of the biocultural community protocol (BCP) process in the context of Ethical BioTrade was implemented in Nazarezinho do Meruú, a community of about 200 families a few hours away by car and boat from Belém, Pará. Within the community, the “Associação de Produtores Rurais de Nazarezinho do Meruú” (Rural Producers’ Association of Nazarezinho do Meruú) represents 60 members/families, 30 of which participate in the process of selling Açaí (Euterpea olarecea) to Beraca, a Brazilian member of the Union for Ethical Biotrade (UEBT).

In comparison with the earlier pilot of Peru, this pilot only included a preliminary dialogue between Beraca and the community, which already proved useful to both in relation to managing expectations. Both parties also provided each other with further background about themselves and how they were organized. After a day of discussions, the need for improved internal organisation was again and again highlighted within the community, above all to bridge the difficult six-month period each year in between the Açaí harvest. It was agreed that the discussion between the two would continue, facilitated by the local NGO Bolsa Amazônia, which would then elaborate to what extent a more BCP-type process would be appropriate and of interest to the community.

First BCP in the Context of Ethical BioTrade

During the course of the last week, Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) participated in the first of three pilot studies as part of a joint GIZ-funded project between the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) and Natural Justice. The aim of the project is to test the concepts and methodologies of biocultural community protocols (BCPs) as a tool to enhance engagement of local actors in Ethical BioTrade supply chains.

The pilot took place in Puerto Maldonado, a small town in the southern Peruvian Amazon. It focused on the relationship between Candela, a founding UEBT member, and the Asociación Forestal Indígena de Madrede Dios (AFIMAD), an association formed by seven local Indigenous communities, to promote their forest-based productive activities.  The current commercial relationship between the communities/AFIMAD and Candela is based on the harvesting of the brazil nut (tree pictured at left); both parties are keen to expand their relationship to other products.

First BCP Piloted in BioTrade Context

During the course of the last week, Johanna von Braun (Natural Justice) participated in the first of three pilot studies as part of a joint GIZ-funded project between the Union for Ethical BioTrade (UEBT) and Natural Justice. The aim of the project is to test the concepts and methodologies of biocultural community protocols (BCPs) as a tool to enhance engagement of local actors in ethical biotrade supply chains.

The pilot was implemented in Puerto Maldonado, a small town in the southern Peruvian Amazon, and focused on the relationship between Candela, a founding UEBT member, and the Asociación Forestal Indígena de Madrede Dios (AFIMAD), an association formed by seven local indigenous communities to promote their forest-based productive activities.  The current commercial relationship between the communities/AFIMAD and Candela is based on the harvesting of brazil nut, whereas both parties are keen to expand their relationship to other products.