International trade contributes significantly to fueling economic growth and development. However, evidence increasingly associates trade with negative impacts on biodiversity and people. In a global economy, which approximately 50% is dependent upon nature, trade can and should be part of the solution to safeguard nature and promote sustainable development

Responding to this challenge, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) will host a Series of Regional Stakeholders Consultations in 2023, which will convene stakeholders to discuss and explore regional priorities and challenges and identify opportunities for the region to move towards a sustainable trade of agricultural commodities, in harmony with nature and supportive of a sustainable socio-economic development.

Three (3) Stakeholders Consultations will be held, one in each region: Asia, Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean; which will focus on delivering impact-driven and actionable solutions for using trade and trade policies to reach net-positive outcomes for nature in a global trading system, and help the implementation of relevant regulations linked to agricultural commodities and of the upcoming post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

The Consultations will take place in a hybrid format with in-person participation planned in some regions, gathering stakeholders from:

• Government entities leading agendas at the trade and environment nexus, focused on agriculture, land management and forestry, biodiversity, finance, economy, industry, and related areas.
• Policymakers in the trade and environment fora.
• Private sector: MSMEs, multinational businesses and stakeholders in value chains of agricultural commodities.
• Non-governmental organizations and civil society.
• Academic and research institutions.
• Financial institutions.

The Regional Stakeholders Consultations will aim to:

• Produce actions-oriented recommendations on enablers and solutions to advance a nature-positive trade in the region.
• Enhance understanding of opportunities emerging at the trade and biodiversity-policy interface, aligning the regional, national and global policy discourse.
• Cultivate and strengthen multi-stakeholder cooperation and dialogue, to forge an inclusive, equitable and sustainable trading system.

The Consultations will be held on:

27 and 28 March 2023, 13:30 – 17:30 CET:

Regional Consultation in Latin America and the Caribbean

• Format: Hybrid; in-person participation in Sao Paulo, Brazil and online
• Venue: Cebrap Research Center; Rua Morgado de Mateus 615, São Paulo, SP, 04015-902
• Interpretation: available in English, Portuguese, and Spanish