Hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Equator Initiative, the ‘Community Taba’ dialogue space invited grassroots organizations from around the world to exchange their experience and best practices in biodiversity conservation and development. Set aside in a unique dialogue space in front of the main convention centre, the Community Taba demonstrated that local communities, their intrinsic knowledge and interest in conserving natural resources within their immediate environment are a driving force for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and the 2010 Biodiversity Target. These local conservation efforts are frequently enriched by the sustainable practices of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as has been recognized by Decision VIII/17 of the Convention.
A space for dialogue On the Community Taba’s Business & Biodiversity Day (21 March), representatives of diverse community-based businesses demonstrated their active engagement in local biodiversity conservation (1). The Union of Rural Cocoa Organizations of Ecuador (UNOCACE), for instance, explained how it switched to organic farming techniques in its production of cocoa and coffee. Today, UNOCACE exports its products successfully to Europe and ensuing profits have vastly improved the livelihoods of the Union’s small-scale farmers and their families. Medicinal and cosmetics producer Associação Vida Verde da Amazônia - AVIVE highlighted how it has developed techniques for the sustainable extraction of medicinal and aromatic native plant species from the Brazilian Amazon. The community-based enterprise, which was a winner of the 2002 Equator Prize, sells its products in stores, catering to local consumers and tourists, as well as online and abroad, thus generating economic alternatives for local women, youth, and people with disabilities. The organization leads an environmental education programme and produces seeds for the replanting and recovery of regional forests, where extractive activities threaten biodiversity. Cananéia Oyster Producers Cooperative (COPC), a 2002 Equator Prize finalist, is reconciling oyster harvesting with the conservation of mangrove forests. To ensure that local harvesting activities are sustainable, the cooperative launched intense efforts to promote community enforcement of legal regulations. The commercial entity established its own brand, skipped sales intermediaries and, as a result, tripled the price it receives for oysters. Profits are reinvested into the community by training women and youth in sewing and craftwork. Visits to their oyster farm provide a basis for local ecotourism. A group of Community Taba participants visited the cooperative’s nearby oyster farm in Cananéia, in the state of São Paulo. The Equator Initiative, a partnership that brings together the United Nations, civil society, business, governments and communities, builds capacity and raises the profile of grassroots efforts to reduce poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
Bringing capital, using local skills In 2005, the Equator Initiative launched the Equator Ventures facility to promote SMEs that help conserve biodiversity in the equatorial region. In partnership with Conservation International’s Verde Ventures programme, it provides grants, loans and capacity development support to local businesses. While the Equator Initiative’s promotion of local entrepreneurs involves the transfer of financial capital and business skills, it also recognizes the potential of the domestic business sector to contribute to development through local resources and expertise. The Community Taba in Curitiba demonstrated the power of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to conserve biodiversity and provide for sustainable economic development. The discussions showed, however, that there remain considerable barriers for SMEs in developing countries to create lasting sustainable livelihoods for local communities. Restrictions created by trade regulations, lack of access to markets and credit, lack of recognition of property rights, and political isolation as they relate to communities working to find economically-viable, biodiversity-based livelihoods need, increasingly, to be addressed. Participants also stressed the need to encourage neighbouring producers and businesses to value and conserve biodiversity, as failing to do so could limit the effectiveness of a company’s environmentally proactive policies and practices. The Equator Initiative recently presented its experience in working with SMEs and diverse partners on the local level. Together with the Global Environment Facility’s Small Grants Programme, the Equator Initiative published a book detailing 30 Latin American Case Studies of local initiatives.
Spices, eco tours and handbags Entitled Community Action to Conserve Biodiversity: Linking Biodiversity Conservation with Poverty Reduction, the publication describes community-based organizations, as well as commercially-viable enterprises, that actively advance the conservation of natural resources. Successful business stories range from the sustainable production and marketing of natural latex handbags in Brazil (Couro Vegetal da Amazônia SA) and organic spices and medicinal plants in Colombia (Red de Mujeres Productoras y Comercializadoras de Plantas Medicinales y Aromáticas), to the provision of rainforest expeditions in Peru (Ese’eja Community Ecotourism) and eco tours for fly-fishing and kayak fans in Belize (Toledo Institute for Development and Environment). For COP-9, not only the inclusion of mainstream business topics will be relevant but, also, the input from small-scale companies that directly rely on natural resources and have a direct interest to protect the natural habitat of their immediate living environment. The collection and sharing of successful business practices through dialogue spaces, peer-to-peer learning activities, and related research publications expands the Convention’s business focus to the local level. The active involvement of SMEs supplements CBD Decisions with biodiversity-related knowledge from local entrepreneurs and surrounding communities. At the same time, communities benefit from exposure to outstanding business ideas and practices that lead to the conservation of natural resources and provide valuable income alternatives.
Sean Southey is Manager and
Gaby Tobler is Programme Officer,
UNDP Equator Initiative.
(1) Report available
here