The International Business and Ecosystems Dialogue
at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), 10th Conference of the
Parties (COP10), Nagoya, Japan
Timing: Tuesday 26th October 2010, 09:00-18:30 hrs
Place: Room 130, 3rd floor, Building 1, Nagoya Congress Centre
Joint organizers
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Keidanren Committee
on Nature Conservation (KCNC) and World Business Council for Sustainable
Development (WBCSD), with support from the CBD Secretariat, to explore
adaptive business strategies, government and corporate policy frameworks to
effectively address ecosystem degradation and biodiversity loss.
Context
The event will take place on 26 October during the second week of the tenth
meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to the Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD), which is being held in Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya,
Japan, from 18 to 29 October 2010.
COP10, which takes place during the UN International Year of Biodiversity,
marks an important milestone for biodiversity and ecosystems conservation:
1. The new post-2010 Strategic Plan which includes a new Vision, Mission
and 20 biodiversity targets will be addressed and adopted. For the first
time, business has provided substantial input to the development of the
plan.
2. The findings of “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity” (TEEB)
study will be released including a dedicated report for business.
3. The details of the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services (IPBES) will be further discussed towards its
establishment as an authoritative platform to assess current biodiversity
and ecosystem services knowledge, identify existing gaps and encourage
further research.
4. It is expected that the ongoing negotiations of an international regime to
regulate access to genetic resources and benefit sharing (ABS) under the
CBD are finalized at COP10 with the adoption of the Aichi Nagoya
Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing.
Dialogue Objectives
The International Business and Ecosystems Dialogue is a direct response to calls
from earlier COPs and recent business and biodiversity events to increase
business engagement and strengthen business support for the CBD’s core
objectives. The dialogue aims to:
1. Inform ministers and government delegations about existing successful
business actions to address the impacts of ecosystems.
WBCSD page 2
2. Discuss strategies that effectively leverage market forces and business
ability to provide solutions to scale up biodiversity conservation.
Desired Outcomes:
1. Catalyze early responses by government and business decision makers on
ecosystem management.
2. Shape and inform WBCSD/IUCN joint work program around business and
ecosystems (2011-2013).
3. Raise awareness of IUCN, KCNC and WBCSD actions on ecosystems and
biodiversity.
Targeted Participants:
To maximize participant interaction and discussion opportunities, the dialogue is
restricted to 100 invited natural resource decision-makers and managers from
both the public and private sector.
Program Outline:
The Dialogue is structured around 4 consecutive sessions of 90 minutes each,
followed by a closing session of 60 minutes. Sessions are built around key note
presentations, interactive discussion by expert panels, followed questions and
answers and voting questions involving all participants.
Session 1 - The Biodiversity and Ecosystem Challenge
This session sets the “scene” by presenting the findings of the TEEB study,
outlining the new CBD biodiversity targets and Strategic Plan, introducing the
IPBES, summarizing the outputs of Business & Biodiversity events held during
2010 and introducing the organizers Joint Statement of Intent outlining concrete
actions needed to address biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation post
COP 10.
A panel of representatives from government, business and conservation groups
will discuss the size, scale and significance of the challenges ahead.
Session 2 - The Business Response
This session focuses on the business ability to address ecosystem degradation
and biodiversity loss - at company level, sector level and national levels covering topics like voluntary standards, sustainable consumption & consumer
behavior, innovation & technology and finance.
A panel discussion between non-business stakeholders will focus on the role of
business in supporting biodiversity conservation as well as how to mainstream
and scale-up these efforts.
Session 3 - The Government Response
This session highlights the range of government regulatory and management
responses, looking at the perspectives from developing and developed countries,
at the local, trans-boundary and international levels.
WBCSD page 3
A panel discussion of non-government stakeholders will discuss how government
efforts can be enhanced and improved to achieve sustainable development
outcomes, and identify key elements of regulatory and management best
practice.
Session 4 - The Public/Private Response
The fourth session tackles the theme of biodiversity as a shared responsibility
and focuses on cooperative strategies to achieve significant scale up and
mainstreaming of joint public-private actions and investments.
Representatives from government, business, conservation and civil society
groups will discuss a range of issues, including effective regulation, incentive
structures, cooperative approaches, property and tenure rights, capacity building,
market creation, and sustainable goods & services.
Closing Session 5
In this final session rapporteurs will summarize key discussion points and the
organizers’ finalized Joint Statement of Intent will be presented. A high level
respondents panel will comment and provide their perspectives and insights on
the way forward.
Press conference
The Dialogue will be followed by a press conference and the formal launch of the
“Japan Business and Biodiversity Partnership”, a new multi-stakeholder initiative
that aims to scale-up and broaden private sector engagement within the CBD
and mainstream biodiversity conservation into Japanese business practices.
PLEASE NOTE – this is an invite only event. For more information contact:
WBCSD
Mr. James Griffiths
IUCN
Mr. Juan Marco Alvarez
Griffiths@wbcsd.org
Juan_Marco.ALVAREZ@iucn.org
Keidanren Committee on
Nature Conservation
Mr. Jun Hangai
hangai-j@keidanren.or.jp
WBCSD page 4
About IUCN
IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to
our most pressing environment and development challenges.
IUCN works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world
economy by supporting scientific research, managing field projects all over the world, and bringing
governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice.
IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, with more than 1,000
government and NGO members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries.
IUCN’s work is supported by over 1,000 staff in 60 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO
and private sectors around the world.
www.iucn.org
About Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation
The Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation established in 1992 is a special committee
comprised by companies which are dedicated to conservation of nature and biodiversity under
Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) as a comprehensive economic organization
consisting of some 1,300 Japanese companies.
The mission of the Keidanren Committee on Nature Conservation is to raise funds for the
Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund & review funding projects, to improve partnership between
companies and NGOs, and to raise awareness of companies & share information.
www.keidanren.or.jp/kncf/en/index.html
About the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
The WBCSD is a CEO-led, global coalition of some 200 companies advocating for progress on
sustainable development. Its mission is to be a catalyst for innovation and sustainable growth in a
world where resources are increasingly limited. The Council provides a platform for companies to
share experiences and best practices on sustainable development issues and advocate for their
implementation, working with governments, non-governmental and intergovernmental
organizations.
The membership has annual revenues of USD 7 trillion, spans more than 35 countries and
represents 20 major industrial sectors. The Council also benefits from a network of 60 national and
regional business councils and partner organizations, a majority of which are based in developing
countries.
www.wbcsd.org