Agroindustry Standards for Biodiversity Conservation

1. Agroindustry Standards for Biodiversity Conservation Dave Gibson Chemonics International Biodiversity Conservation in Agriculture Symposium Punta Cana, Dominican Republic May 31 – June 2, 2006

2. Outline • Driving Forces for Biodiversity in Agrifood • Typology & Application of Biodiversity Standards • Common Obstacles & Opportunities for

3. Agriculture Remains at the Center of The Global Biodiversity Crisis • 70% of forest loss due to agricultural conversion • 90% of the world’s forests lay outside of protected areas • If only current protected areas remain as habitat, we risk losing between 30-50% remaining species

4. Shifting Agrifood Concerns 2005 1970s 1980s 2000 1990s

5. Supermarket Consolidation Drives Agrifood Interests % U.S. France Brazil & Korea China * Courtesy Tom Reardon, Michigan State Univ.

6. Standards & Arm-Length Trading • Ensure quality conformity • Provide product traceability • Product Safety & healthiness • Cost reduction • Capture the value of environmental goods and services • Move “Pure Public” goods to “Market Goods” box Risk Reduction! Consumers Suppliers Standards Processors Producers

7. Value Chain Standard Types • Retail – Starbucks CAFÉ, Fair Trade, • Food Manufacturers – BRC, IFS, ISO 14001/22000 • Agricultural production – EurepGAP • Meta-standards – Organics, Rainforest Alliance, BMP Meta Standards Manufacturer Retail Production Farmers Brokers Processors Retailers Consumers

8. Retail – Starbucks Café • Subject Area: Environmental Leadership • Principle:Employ coffee farming practices that maintain and enhance the presence and viability of biological resources found within and adjacent to coffee production areas • Criteria, Indicators & Scoring • Maintain coffee shade (5 pts) • Protect wildlife (5 pts) • Establish conservation areas (5 pts)

9. Food Manufacturers – British Retail Consortium (BRC) • Aimed food safety, traceability, quality management • Integrates raw products through finished foods • Waste disposal must meet national regulations • Contamination of product more important than ecosystem loss

10. Agricultural Production - EUREPGAP 1 Minor Must and 5 Recommendations: • Has a conservation management plan been established (either individually or on a regional basis)? • Documented wildlife conservation plan that refers specifically to the farm • Baseline audit of species and HVC areas • Actions to expand diversity to other sites

11. Meta-standards – Sustainable Food Lab • Soy, Sugar, Palm Oil, Cotton • Focused on non-3rd party verification: • Sustainable Food Laboratory • Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform • IFC BMP Program

12. Meta-standards – IFC’s BMP Program

13. Meta-standards-Rainforest Alliance/SAN

14. Biodiversity within Organic Standards

15. USNOP Biodiversity Rules • Organic production:A production system that is managed in accordance with the Act and regulations in this part to respond to site-specific conditions by integrating cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. But there are no specific requirements stated! §205.203(c)“Manage plant and animal materials to maintain or improve soil organic matter content in a manner that does not contribute to contamination of crops, soil, or water by plant nutrients, pathogenic organisms, heavy metals, or residues of prohibited substances.”

16. Common Elements of Standards • Develop conservation policy appropriate to farm operations • Conduct baseline inventory to understand conservation needs • Set Objectives & targets for HCV areas and, other farm operations • Implement the conservation policy & plan • Benchmark performance of conservation system • Set aside resources and management time to review and modify system • Communicate results!

17. Emerging Trends – Obstacles • Food safety concerns overshadow biodiversity • Lack of landscape planning context & capacity • Inadequate incentives for conformance • Access to standards • Cost of maintaining certification

18. Emerging Trends: Opportunities • Proliferation slowing • Structural uniformity • Planning & management-driven • Ecosystem focus emerging • Local capacity growing • Consumers starting to pay • Multinationals listening

19. Project-Level BMPs • Assure that biodiversity standards are routine values within BDS outsourcing projects • Build conservation awareness & capacity in associations as part of competitiveness strategies • Ease conservation standard entry by clustering producers & processors or retailers • Consider working with DCA & multilaterals to establish credit windows & insurance for “certified” commodities

20. Promising Approaches Include • Accelerate access to clean production through regulatory relief, P2/CP tariffs, and P3’s • Review & strengthen host country capacity to promote & support application of environment and conservation standards • Help build 3rd party capacity to implement and audit to private standards that incorporate conservation values

21. Trade Integration Standards Support Solutions • Trade Standards Practitioners Network Established • Conduct routine screening of project interventions for market conformity, compliance with regulations, and cost reduction • Guide series demystifies standards

22. Trade Standard Integration Portal www.tradestandards.org

23. Trends in Biodiversity Standards InternationalVoluntaryStandards International Conventions & VoluntaryInitiatives National Regulations National Required Voluntary