Nearly half of the world’s population is directly dependent on biodiversity for their livelihoods. Today over 3.2 billion people depend on biodiversity for their livelihoods, but the globe’s biodiversity resources are being depleted at an alarming rate. In Europe alone, the cost of biodiversity loss is estimated about 3% of its GDP, or €450m (£400m), a year [1]. “If we are going to address the issue of biodiversity, we also have to look at the fundamental issues
NTMs Week expert-meeting summary on: “UNFSS 3rd Flagship Report on VSS, Trade and Sustainable Development” Thursday 11th October 2018, 11.30am-1pm. Watch recorded session here UNFSS Coordinator and UNCTAD Senior Economist, Santiago Fernandez de Cordoba delivered an introductory presentation highlighting the key components of UNFSS as a neutral, independent platform to harness the potentials of VSS to achieve the SDGs, mainly through facilitating developing countries’ access to the global markets and stimulating well-informed policy dialogue among key stakeholders on the national and international level.
With around 500 participants, the International Convention on Sustainable Trade and Standards (ICSTS) welcomed over 20 nationalities from diverse sectors along the supply chain. The convention in itself addresses 12 key topics through panel discussions, from the challenges of multiplicity to the challenges of global value chains connected to social accountability. discusses thematic sessions on ways to strengthen multi-stakeholder initiatives and responsible sourcing decisions in agri-food, fisheries, textiles and forestry, each of which were chaired by the UNFSS Steering Committee members. raises
Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) Week Trade Regulations and Voluntary Sustainability Standards Date: 9-11 October 2018 Venue: Room XXV, Palais des Nations, Geneva Hosted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the NTM week will provide a platform for policymakers, practitioners and researchers to discuss cutting-edge issues surrounding the impact of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), including voluntary sustainability standards (VSS), on international trade and sustainable development. Together, they will consider ways of “shaping sustainable trade amid protectionism”. Regulatory and non-regulatory measures have become more
How do trade contribute to SDG 12 “Responsible Consumption and Production”? Find out at the T4SD Forum 2018! Registrations are now open! bit.ly/T4SDForum2018 The International Trade Centre (ITC), one of UNFSS’s composed agencies, will be hosting its fifth Trade for Sustainable Development Forum at the ITC headquarters in Geneva from 1-3 October 2018. The T4SD Forum 2018 will be held in parallel with the World Trade Organization (WTO) Public Forum 2018. Working in the same direction as UNFSS’s goal towards “better trade
International Convention on Sustainable Trade and Standards Leveraging Trade, Global Value Chains, and Standards as engines of Sustainable Development 17-18 September 2018 | New Delhi, India The International Convention on Sustainable Trade and Standards (ICSTS) is organized by the India National Platform on Private Sustainability Standards (India PSS Platform) and convened by the Quality Council of India, in collaboration with UNFSS. Registrations Open (link below). From topics on international trade, innovations in sustainable global value chains, and sustainability standard settings, to government policies and multi-stakeholder
The 2-day intensive workshop held in Lima, Peru between 5th-6th June 2018, on ‘Sustainable Trade between Peru and the EU‘ was organized at the request of the Andean Community to support mainly the Peruvian SMEs exporters and policy makers to be able to gain deeper knowledge and the potentiality of accessing the lucrative European Sustainable Development’s “Green” market. Details and agenda of the workshop can be found here. There were over 50 participants at the workshop, of which the majority of
In recent years, Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) had an increasing influence over export opportunities for developing countries to access the international markets. The fast-changing landscape matters to everyone: consumers, buyers, traders, producers, and policymakers, given its pertinence in the global trends, market access conditions and the standards used at all levels of the supply chains. In 2016, Andean Community exports to the EU reached US $13,718 million, with agri-food products exports representing 43% between these two partners, making EU the
The UNCTAD’s Deputy Secretary-General, Mme Isabelle Durant, will Chair this expert meeting on Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) on Wednesday 27 September at the Palais des Nations Room XXV in Geneva. The key questions that will be discussed during the meeting are: How effective have VSS been for sustained, inclusive and sustainable trade? What type of global partnership can help improve VSS’ effectiveness on inclusive and sustainable trade growth? What is the role of a national regulatory framework on VSS? What are key lessons from
