Biotrade expert and formal director of UNCTAD BioTrade in Ecuador
Session Organizer: • Trade, Development and the Environment Hub (TRADE Hub), • UNCTAD BioTrade, • Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), • UN Environment Programme (UNEP).
Session Description: There is increasing recognition of the role that trade and trade-related policies play in addressing the biodiversity crisis. Trade can exacerbate biodiversity degradation and loss, with about 30% of the global biodiversity footprint embedded in trade. Agricultural expansion in particular has been estimated to drive 88% of global deforestation, with only seven agricultural commodities with predominantly global supply chains — cattle, oil palm, soy, cocoa, rubber, coffee and plantation wood fibre — accounting for 26% of global tree cover loss from 2001 to 2015. Read more