SL B&B platform first in South Asia to join global partnership on business and biodiversity
Tuesday, 20 May 2014 00:00
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Sri Lanka’s Business and Biodiversity (B&B) Platform has emerged as the first from South Asia to gain membership of the Global Partnership on Business and Biodiversity (GPBB) established under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands and the European Union are the other initiatives that have joined the partnership. Australia, India, Namibia, Portugal, Rwanda, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain and the United Kingdom have initiatives currently under development.
In October 2010, Parties to the Convention adopted a decision to explore ways to enhance private sector collaboration in achieving its goals. The decision called upon the CBD Secretariat to encourage the establishment of national and regional business and biodiversity initiatives. The Global Partnership acts as a conduit, clearing house and intelligence source for private sector entities to identify and address issues and challenges concerning business and biodiversity conservation including sustainable use.
Through its membership, the Sri Lanka B&B Platform has earned the possibility of leveraging Sri Lankan business sector participation in the decision making processes of the CBD’s Conference of Parties and in harmonising with other business and biodiversity initiatives around the world. It will also enable the harmonisation of methodologies to enable businesses to link actions and results with the 2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets.
Currently, twenty leading corporate entities with high standards of environmental custodianship back the Sri Lankan initiative as its Patron Members. Membership of the Platform is open to Sri Lanka-based businesses ranging from SMEs to national and multinational companies, business associations as well as expert institutions.
Convention on Biological Diversity is the international legal instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, developed through an initiative of the UN Environment Program.
It culminated on 22 May 1992 at the Nairobi Conference in Kenya. The Convention was opened for signature on 5 June 1992 at the UN Conference on Environment and Development (Rio ‘Earth Summit’) and remained open for signature until 4 June 1993, by which time it had received 168 signatures including Sri Lanka’s.
The Convention entered into force on 29 December 1993 and by now has reached 193 signatory parties with the exception of Andorra, the Holy See, South Sudan and the USA.
Sri Lanka Business and Biodiversity Paltform is a tool to foster dialogue between Sri Lanka’s private sector and conservation agencies.
One stop shop
The Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Dilmah Conservation established the Platform to provide valuable services to Sri Lankan businesses invested in sustainable development and conserving the natural resources of the country. The main objective of the Platform is to be a one stop shop for information, advice and assistance required by companies to preserve our country’s natural heritage. The Platform is also committed to publicise these efforts of the private sector and to create a network linking Sri Lanka’s businesses, government agencies and conservation organisations.
Global Partnership on Business and Biodiversity was formed under Decision X/21 of COP10 of the CBD and is based at the CBD Secretariat located in Gland, Switzerland. The Vision of the Partnership is to see that by 2020, national/regional business and biodiversity initiatives are active in all countries that have signed the CBD and the private sector is taking an active lead on biodiversity issues.
The Mission of the Partnership is to add value to the national/regional initiatives by providing a forum to share ideas, raise awareness, engage in dialogue and help leverage the CBD Business Program.
2020 Aichi Biodiversity Targets: COP10 of the CBD adopted 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets to be achieved by the year 2020. These targets, organised under five strategic goals, address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss, reducing the pressures on biodiversity, safeguarding biodiversity at all levels, enhancing the benefits provided by biodiversity, and providing capacity building.
