UNCTAD’s BioTrade initiative

Biodiversity is being lost at an unprecedented rate. This can be attributed to factors like land-use change, overexploitation, pollution, climate change, the introduction of invasive species, and other human activities (CBD, 2010). The significance of this challenge can be understood from the fact that the loss of biodiversity is expected to be the third most severe risk for the planet on a global scale, after climate action failure and extreme weather, over the next ten years (World Economic Forum, 2022). Furthermore, research indicates that by 2030, low and lower-middle-income countries, mainly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, are at risk of losing around 10 per cent of their annual GDP, if ecosystem services, such as those provided by forests, fisheries, and pollinators, collapse (World Bank, 2021).

Sustainable Development Goals:

Life on Land