WTO Public Forum on BioTrade: CSEND + UNCTAD

WTO Public Forum on BioTrade: CSEND + UNCTAD, September 2015

Biodiversity is essential for the health of the planet's ecosystems and for the livelihood of rural communities in developing countries where 70 per cent of the world’s poor live (CBD Secretariat). These communities are highly dependent on sourcing natural resources to satisfy their basic needs and to generate income and are increasingly threatened by the loss of biodiversity. The roundtable was organized by the Centre for Socio-Eco-Nomic Development (CSEND) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). Panelists were from international and intergovernmental organizations, a development bank, academia and from civil society who together discussed the opportunities and challenges for scaling up BioTrade while respecting the sustainable development policy objectives.