Since 1993, the Convention of Biological Diversity has been promoting the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of resources and advocates fair distribution along the value chain. The COP, which is now taking place for the 15th time, is its governing body and promotes the implementation of decisions made at regular conferences.
Part of the Convention’s strategic plans is broader societal engagement in implementing the decisions taken at COP15, with partnerships between key actors and stakeholders being of great importance. Multi-stakeholder partnerships (MSPs) can thus integrate various biodiversity concerns into relevant sectoral or cross-sectoral plans, programs and policies. Therefore, the Convention aims to create a global forum where, in the spirit of MSPs, governments, non-governmental organizations, academics, the private sector and other groups or individuals can exchange ideas and strategies in order to coordinate in accordance with the goals of the CBD.
The factsheet on SDG 15 shows the relevance of MSPs for the conservation of biodiversity. Sustainable social and economic development presupposes that natural resources are used sparingly in order to guarantee a healthy environment. Since production processes, consumer habits and framework conditions must be changed or created for this, cooperation across several sectors is essential. A fitting example of such an MSP is Grow Asia, which brings together farmers, governments, the private sector and non-governmental organizations in Southeast Asia to reconcile increased productivity and profitability with sustainable management. Through the partnership, Grow Asia can organize interventions along the entire value chain on site and thus improve processes. Be it through the use of improved seeds, the development of effective policies or the marketing of the end products.
