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Trade and Environment Programme Newsletter-May 2016
Trade and Environment Programme
© Zhang Ke
Trade and Environment Programme News - May 2016
This quarterly newsletter gives an update of the International Trade Centre’s (ITC) Trade and
Environment Programme’s (TEP) activities in capacity building and market analysis.
In 2015, sustainability was high on the development agenda. This is likely to intensify as the
Paris Agreement set a framework for countries to mitigate emissions and adapt to climate
change. Climate change is having a negative impact on productivity and trade from developing
countries. The climate risks that farmers in developing countries face continue to grow.
Extreme weather events now clearly have an impact on Aid for Trade projects, including those
implemented by ITC. In response, the Trade and Environment Programme has designed and
rolled out training for ITC staff on mainstreaming sustainability issues into programming. This
training builds on the findings of a survey published in 2015 of exporters’ perceptions of climate
change and their technical assistance requirements. The in-house training, to be published
externally in the first half of 2016, will help ensure that climate change and other environmental
risks like pollution are minimized whilst project clients benefit from export opportunities to the
green economy.
Biodiversity loss is also a priority of the development agenda. Trade has a role to play in
supporting the sustainable use of flora and fauna. ITC is working with CITES Parties on various
initiatives. This newsletter highlights our work in Viet Nam, in particular to strengthen
sustainability in the python skin supply chain and to analyse the economics of demand for
animal products used in traditional Asian medicine. This work will assist CITES Parties in their
decision-making about CITES listings in the run-up to the Conference of Parties in
Johannesburg in September.
In Peru, the TEP continues to support cocoa exporters with capacity building on key market
requirements like voluntary standards, packaging and branding, and quality management as
well as linking to European markets. This has resulted in new contracts for companies and
cooperatives. In Madagascar, training workshops for women’s associations producing raffia in
the buffer zones of Makira Park – organized by the TEP and the Wildlife Conservation Society
(WCS) – are helping to build climate resilience, improve sustainability practices and raise
incomes in communities reliant on raffia for their livelihoods.
ITC was able to implement these projects thanks to funding from the Governments of Denmark,
Germany and Norway during 2015 and to its cooperation partners for our ongoing collaboration.
Partnerships are key to ITC’s strategy for delivering both impact and sustainability in support of
the Global Goals.
For the remainder of 2016 and into our 2017-20 programming period, we look to build on these
partnerships to ensure the delivery of ITC’s mission of ‘trade impact for good’.
Alexander Kasterine
Head, ITC Trade and Environment Programme
Connecting Peruvian cocoa and chocolate
producers to international markets
ITC support to Peruvian SMEs producing fine cocoa and derivatives translates into real trade opportunities.
International trade in fine or flavour cocoa and
chocolate enhances growth opportunities for
Peruvian SMEs. The International Trade Centre
(ITC), together with Promperú (Peru Export and
Tourism Promotion agency), supported the
Peruvian exhibition stand at the Salon du
Chocolat Paris, in October 2015, presenting
products of 12 Peruvian SMEs manufacturing
fine or flavour cocoa as well as bean to bar
chocolate.
The Salon du Chocolat welcomed 100,000
visitors together with international cocoa buyers
and chocolate distributors. The participation of
Peruvian SMEs in the event opened business
opportunities for the industry of native
biodiversity-based products and derivatives.
Through business meetings organized by ITC,
the Peruvian suppliers have established export
links with international buyers. The sector of
SMEs producing fine native cocoa and bean to
bar chocolate sold US$ 1,080,000 during the
Salon du Chocolat while exports resulting from
the show are expected to amount to more than
US$ 9 million in the next 12 months according to
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru.
Connecting SMEs producing biodiversity-based
products with international value chains is one of
the pillars of ITC’s work in Peru. In the country,
ITC implements training activities and provides
market intelligence services that enable domestic
producers to meet international requirements and
access foreign markets. "The Salon du Chocolat
serves as a platform for communication between
SMEs and potential buyers." said Gisella
Chumpén, the representative of PromPerú at the
Salon du Chocolat Paris.
Strengthening the value chain of fine
cocoa
"Peru continues to prove to be among the best in
the world at producing fine or flavour cocoa.” For
instance, this year Peru was one of countries to
receive an award in the International Cocoa
Awards competition for a cocoa variety from the
region of Tumbes. “By making use of its genetic
diversity the country adds value to finished
products such as bean to bar chocolate." said
Carmen Rosa Chavez, the representative of the
Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation of Peru
(Minagri) at the Salon du Chocolat Paris.
Peru is recognized by the International Cocoa
Organization as one of the few countries in the
world, producing fine or flavour cocoa. Peru has
a great variety of native cocoa trees that grow in
different regions such as the coastal area of
Tumbes and Piura; the Amazon region of San
Martin, Amazonas and Ucayali and other areas of
rainforest in Cajamarca, Huanuco, Junin,
Ayacucho and Cusco. Smallholder agriculture
accounts for most of the production of native
Peruvian cocoa and is the main source of income
for the rural population. "Behind every cocoa
tree there are people, history, and culture"
said Carmen Rosa Chavez.
In addition to the positive commercial outcomes
resulting from the participation of SMEs in the
trade fair, SMEs gained more visibility of their
brands and products within the international
market. "Here you realize the wide range of
opportunities that exist for the chocolate sector.
Many people attend this fair because it brings
together key chocolate industry actors." said Lizi
Montoya, chocolatier and owner of Shattell
Chocolate.
"The fair has also helped us to form a large
network. All the main chocolatiers from all over
the world come here. Having that network of
contacts helps us grow as a company as it
improves our visibility." said Francesca Valvidia,
chocolatier and owner of Q'uma Chocolate.
SMEs producing bean to bar chocolate are not
the only ones to benefit from the participation in
the trade fair. Agricultural cooperatives producing
fine or flavour cocoa established new market
linkages and promoted the Peruvian cocoa as a
biodiversity-based product in the international
market.
"The importance of participating in this fair is that
it opens up new opportunities to find customers
and introduce our products to international
markets. Thus it also enables us to improve the
life quality of smallholder farmers who belong to
our association." said Carlos Julio Noriega
García, the representative of the Regional
Association of Cocoa Producers Tumbes.
"We obtain first-hand information about the global
cocoa market situation and trends, and what we
can do to meet the international market
requirements. The other goal, slightly more
technical, is to be aware of research novelties in
cocoa industry such as in production, processing
of cocoa, fermentation etc." said José Rojas
Hernández, the representative of the Norandino
cooperative (Cooperativa Agraria Norandino).
Promotion and training of SMEs
for the international market
To promote fine or flavour Peruvian cocoa, ITC
together with Minagri, Promperú, APPCacao
(Peruvian Association of Cocoa Producers) and
CBI organized a sensory analysis of Peruvian
cocoa that took place at the Salon du Chocolat
Paris. International cocoa tasters and the
representatives of the French chocolate industry,
invited by ITC, attended the event led by the
chocolate and cocoa researcher Ed Seguine.
New sensory profiles of cocoa varieties from San
Martin and Junin were presented during the
analysis.
One of the main objectives achieved at the Salon
du Chocolat Paris was to provide information
about the international markets to SMEs. The
Workshop l'Art du Chocolat organized by ITC
created an opportunity for Peruvian SMEs
producing chocolate to learn about European
market trends, high-quality chocolate products,
and chocolate manufacturing techniques.
ITC event at the COP 21 in Paris on climate
change and the role of trade
High-level meeting with ITC, UNCTAD and WTO during UNFCCC COP 21 addressed the role of markets and
trade to leverage co-benefits for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
The development agenda is an increasingly
important component of climate change policies
as recognized by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change under the term co-benefits –
complementary benefits.
Trade, along with finance and technology, has an
important role to play in leveraging the various
complementary benefits. At the same time,
climate policies can and do influence trade
among countries, promoting more sustainable
emission patterns and greater resilience for
enterprises, in particular for small businesses.
Examples of such co-benefits include economic
growth and development, poverty reduction, and
improved air quality, health, energy security, job
creation, biological diversity and water
management.
For the occasion of the UNFCCC COP21 Paris
summit in December 2015, ITC, UNCTAD and
WTO jointly organized the event “Climate change
and the role of markets and trade: leveraging co-
benefits”.
Speakers included Arancha González, Executive
Director, ITC; Joakim Reiter, Deputy Secretary-
General, UNCTAD; Karl Brauner, Deputy Director
General, WTO; Tim Groser, Minister of Trade
and Climate Change, New Zealand; Luis Enrique
Berrizbeitia, Executive Vice President, the
Development Bank of Latin America (CAF);
Margarita Astralaga, Director of the Environment
and Climate Division (IFAD); and Henry Neufeldt,
Head of the Climate Change Unit at the World
Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF).
The event brought into focus the role of markets
and trade in leveraging the various co-benefits in
the implementation period, starting from 2016
onwards.
ITC’s outlook on climate change
ITC Executive Director, Arancha González,
discussed the ways international trade can work
to support climate-smart solutions to developing
economies. Trade and climate policies can be
mutually supportive. For instance, strong
regulation on limiting greenhouse gas emissions
will set incentives for entrepreneurs, including
those from developing countries, to supply the
world with the goods and services needed for a
low carbon future. The interface of trade and
climate change should not only look at big
business, but also at SMEs, in particular in
building greater climate resilience and sharing
best practices.
ITC’s action on climate change is driven in
response to three main questions: 1) how can
trade organizations support the mitigation efforts
of SMEs?; 2) how can trade be used to create
new opportunities that are climate sensitive?; 3)
how can multilateral cooperation support public
policies and development objectives with specific
attention to SMEs and women, in particular in the
agricultural sector, as the sector most affected by
climate change?
ITC shares expertise in sustainable use at
CITES event
CITES side events reinforced ITC’s position as the leading organization advancing the sustainable use model of
conservation.
CITES (also known as the Convention on
International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international
agreement to protect trade in endangered plants
and animals. ITC and CITES signed a letter of
agreement in January 2014 outlining a
collaboration to enhance the livelihood benefits of
rural communities involved in global wildlife trade.
ITC and CITES agreed that a particular focus will
be placed on market analysis and capacity
building.
The CITES-ITC collaboration combines the
expertise of two United Nations bodies to
increase the understanding of international
markets for products such as exotic skins,
medicinal plants, natural fibres and precious
timber, among others. The collaboration works to
bridge the information gap between harvesters,
producers, regulators, retailers and consumers
by mapping and preparing in-depth analyses of
the dynamics of value chains for selected
endangered flora and fauna. The collaboration
also strengthens ITC’s efforts to build models of
trade that incentivize communities and small and
medium-sized enterprises to sustainably trade
biodiversity products and services. ITC and
CITES will continue to focus on supporting
analysis and capacity building leading up to the
next busy meeting, the17th meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to CITES (COP17),
which will be held in South Africa in September
and October this year.
At the annual CITES Standing Committee
meeting attended by around 300 delegates, ITC
presented results from its work at three separate
side events.
Early Rhino-Demand Results
A side event organized by ITC in partnership with
CITES Management Authority of Viet Nam, the
Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology
(DICE) and IUCN presented the early results of a
consumer preference survey on trends in the
demand for Traditional Asian Medicine containing
animal derivatives. Demand was particularly high,
with the room overflowing with attendees.
The international demand for animal and plant
derivatives listed under CITES used in traditional
medicine, luxury foods and curios especially in
Asia remains strong and rising In order to
understand more about consumer preferences
for sustainably sourced wildlife products and to
inform policymakers about the prospects for
reducing demand for endangered species, ITC is
carrying out a consumer preference survey on
trends in the demand for Traditional Asian
Medicine containing animal derivatives. The
choice experiment and interviews were
conducted in Viet Nam in November and
December 2015 and will be completed in March
2016.
The side event shared early results from the
survey which aims to:
Assess the drivers of demand for derivatives from endangered species for use in traditional medicine
Evaluate substitution effects (e.g. between wild caught and captive-bred wildlife products)
Assess prospects for demand reduction in Asia, among other proposed policy responses
Evaluate the impact of various trade policies on demand (such as trade bans, quotas)
Showing Results of the Python
Conservation Partnership
In 2013, three organizations — ITC, IUCN and
Kering ― formed the Python Conservation
Partnership (PCP) to address conservation
issues in fashion supply chains. One of the
functions of this public-private partnership is to
conduct publicly available research and capacity
building to strengthen sustainability in the supply
chain for python skins. The PCP, including ITC’s
Executive Director Arancha Gonzalez, presented
results from its research on three areas of the
supply chain: livelihoods from python farming;
sustainability and animal welfare of wild harvest
and captive breeding and appropriate technology
to improve traceability. These results will be
published in early 2016, and will guide capacity
building for python range states and inform
CITES Parties and decision-making particularly in
the CITES Working Group on Pythons.
Helping Launch the Sustainable
Livelihoods Handbook
Finally, the Head of the Trade and Environment
Programme, Alexander Kasterine, participated on
a panel for the launch of a new handbook on
CITES and livelihoods, released jointly by CITES
and the Organization of American States (OAS).
Mr. Kasterine highlighted programmatic work
under the agreement between CITES and ITC.
The event underlined ITC’s support to the
sustainable use model of wildlife conservation
through the use of economic analysis and
capacity building.
New ITC-TRAFFIC publication
promotes sustainability for Chinese
medicinal plants
International standards could contribute to better harvesting and trade practices
Substantial market opportunities exist around the
world for certified medicinal and aromatic plants
from China such as ginseng and frankincense. A
new ITC publication points to how these
opportunities can be captured in an
environmentally responsible manner, contributing
to improved biodiversity conservation and higher
household incomes in the rural communities
engaged in the collection of such plants in the
wild.
‘Sustainable Sourcing: Markets for Certified
Chinese Medicinal and Aromatic Plants’,
prepared in partnership with TRAFFIC, the
wildlife trade monitoring network, reviews the
potential global market for sustainably wild-
collected botanical ingredients originating from
China. The analysis provides an overview of
current trade in wild-collected and cultivated
botanical, algal and fungal ingredients. These
include tea leaf, medicinal plants like ginseng,
and aromatics such as ginger, herbal extracts,
essential oils, natural gums, and seaweeds. It
also describes market dynamics for certified
ingredients.
The report provides a clear picture of how
international sustainability standards and
certification schemes relate to wild-harvested
plant ingredients from China, and encourages the
uptake of best practices in sustainable wild-
harvesting and equitable trade. In so doing, it
contributes to the pursuit of the Convention on
Biological Diversity’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets,
which provide a framework on biodiversity for all
partners engaged in biodiversity management
and policy for the decade up to 2020. The report
also supports key objectives of the Global
Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) and the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (CITES).
China is the biggest source and centre of
production for many medicinal and aromatic plant
materials used in traditional Chinese medicine. It
produces a wide variety of plant-based herbal
medicines and ingredients that are consumed
within China and worldwide. However, wild plant
resources in China, as in other parts of the world,
are under threat, in large part because of
overharvesting to meet high demand for
© Zhang Ke © Li Jiangliang
traditional medicines and herbal products.
Sustainable sourcing is therefore essential for the
conservation of the species.
Moreover, sustainability certification can improve
China’s share in the fast-growing market for
sustainably sourced products. Fair Trade USA
(FTUSA) reported a 23% increase in the quantity
of fair trade certified herbs and spices imported
by the United States in 2013 compared with the
previous year. Globally, Fairtrade International
(FLO) estimated a 182% growth rate for fair trade
certified herbs, herbal teas and spices in 2013
compared with 2012.
The paper is part of a series entitled
Sustainability Market Guides produced by the
ITC Trade and Environment Programme.
*This article is available online.
Empowering Madagascan women with
environmental know-how
Support for women’s associations in Madagascar to enhance raffia production is also helping the conservation of
biodiversity in the country
It is somewhat ironic that with more than 3 billion
people, the rural poor, who have very little in the
way of personal resources, constitute the largest
group of natural resource managers. Within this
group, women have a key role in sourcing natural
resources as farmers and household providers.
They are responsible for harvesting, collecting of
fuel and water and cultivating subsistence crops.
Despite providing in large measure for their
family needs, women are often denied natural
resource governance functions within their
communities. By contrast, men are dominating
governing roles such as commercializing land,
water, plants and animals and thus generating
income for their community.
Due to degradation of natural resources caused
by climate change and biodiversity loss, women
are dedicating an increasing amount of time to
sourcing natural resources, such as walking
longer distances for collecting fuelwood and
water and harvesting wild plants.
However, women can act as effective agents of
change in relation to the conservation of
biodiversity as well as climate change mitigation
and adaptation. Their role as stewards of natural
and household resources positions them well to
advocate climate-smart strategies to build
resilient communities.
Madagascar makes a good example. According
to the World Bank, two-thirds of the country’s
population is living in rural areas. With more than
40 protected areas accounting for around 2
million hectares of land, the livelihoods of the
majority of rural people depend on sourcing
natural resources from the buffer zones
surrounding those areas.
Biodiversity Hotspots
Madagascar’s forests are biodiversity hotspots,
home to species found nowhere else. At the
same time, the country faces stern development
challenges: high poverty rates, population growth
and slow economic development. Its unique
forest habitats face grave threats from slash-and-
burn agriculture and illegal logging, exacerbating
the fallout from changing temperature and rainfall
patterns.
Fibres from raffia palms have long been used for
making traditional handicrafts, twine, rope and
clothing. More recently, woven hats and bags
made from raffia have started to find favour in the
international fashion industry. However, this has
not yet translated into a payoff for the women’s
cooperatives that typically process raffia and sell
it on to traders as raffia yields have been battered
by deforestation and climate change.
Climate Resilience
The International Trade Centre (ITC) is working
with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to
build climate resilience, improve sustainability
practices and raise incomes in communities
reliant on raffia for their livelihoods.
As yields decline the women’s associations must
improve harvesting practices and upgrade
processing and quality to meet the exacting
standards of international buyers. To maximize
the prices they receive, they need to complement
increased productivity with improved product
design and direct sales to international buyers.
In areas surrounding the WCS-managed Makira
National Park, ITC is training women’s
associations on climate-change adaptation and
climate-smart raffia harvesting and processing
techniques as well as organizational
management.
By increasing incomes for households near the
park, one of the country’s largest remaining mid-
elevation tropical forests, the programme aims to
reduce dependence on unsustainable
exploitation of natural resources while engaging
local communities as collaborative managers in
the 372,000-hectare park’s conservation
activities.
ITC and WCS conducted training workshops in
2015 for around 200 women from six women’s
associations in the Makira area, on raffia
harvesting, sorting, drying, tanning, quality
improvements, product design and planting
aimed at ensuring climate resilience and long-
term profitability.
This capacity building was implemented in two
stages. First, 24 women representing six
individual federations in total were equipped to
train fellow association members in the long run.
Next, week-long training workshops were held in
multiple villages for some 180 women from the
six associations.
‘During the training, we learnt a lot about raffia
and we are now crafting betterquality items,’ said
Florine Zafijery, a member of one of the
associations benefitting from the project.
As a result of the workshops the women in the
buffer zones of Makira Park are now following
more sustainable techniques of raffia sourcing.
For instance, they learned to source raffia leaves
only during the dry season. Furthermore, the
associations learned to harvest leaves of a
minimum length of 120 centimetres to reach the
maximum length. They were also trained in
reforestation techniques to ensure long-term
raffia sustainability.
The programme’s training activities will expand in
2016 to cover eight additional women’s
associations in the Makira Park area, bringing the
total number of beneficiaries to 450. Furthermore,
two women from each of the participating groups
will receive intensive training on product design
and manufacture for the international market,
enabling them to train their peers with the goal of
better equipping the associations to sell value-
added products.
For its part ITC will build on its market-
connecting work to create a network of potential
raffia purchasers. Together with WCS, ITC will
help the associations enhance their legal status
so they can more easily strike contracts with
international buyers. ITC will also assist the
associations in leveraging its Blue Number
initiative, a global online network and tracking
system for farms and agro-industry, to garner
increased visibility on the raffia value chain.
Bolstering Livelihoods
The raffia project is the first step in broader
collaboration between ITC and Madagascar’s
trade and environment ministries to promote
exports of sustainable natural resources to
bolster rural livelihoods and while conserving
biodiversity.
Empowering rural women with environmental
knowledge and market intelligence is the key to
giving them a voice in community based natural
resource management. It enables them to
source, manage and trade their produce locally
and internationally, thus generating additional
income for their communities and improving
livelihoods.
*This article is available online.
New ITC Environmental Mainstreaming
Policy lays path for green competitiveness
The Trade and Environment Programme held a series of Environment Mainstreaming workshops to help direct all
of ITCs projects towards sustainability
In early 2015, ITC trained its staff on
mainstreaming environmental concerns into
their projects. Over the course of four sessions,
more than 50 staff and consultants learned how
to use the Environment Mainstreaming Guide.
The training was well received, with more than
95% saying that they would recommend it to a
colleague.
The International Trade Centre is committed to
delivering trade impact for good. This means
working with small and medium sized
enterprises (SMEs), trade support institutions
and policymakers to strengthen developing
economies’ ability to trade. In recent years,
economists, business leaders and politicians
around the world have come to understand the
inexorable link between strong economic
development and robust protection of natural
resources.
It is clear that ITC could play a critical role for
our SME beneficiaries by helping them mitigate
environmental risks and taking advantage of
new environmental market opportunities. The
Environmental Mainstreaming Guide for project
managers is the culmination of that work.
Several developing country governments
expressed concern about the environmental
impact of trade at the recent WTO Ministerial
Conference in Nairobi, saying that it was
increasingly clear that poor environmental
management was a barrier to economic
development. The Guide will ensure that ITC is
addressing these concerns in our own project
work, breaking new ground for the aid-for-trade
community.
We have seen strong interest expressed by
ITC’s funders. Many funding governments and
organizations see SME export development as
a critical tool in a wider push for economic
development. Also central to that development
is ensuring sustainable use of natural
resources. ITC’s SME clients, especially those
in the agricultural sector, face increasing risks
from unpredictable and volatile climate change.
For instance, Cyclone Winston, with sustained
winds of 230 kilometers per hour, caused
serious damage to a number of ITC
beneficiaries on the island of Fiji. Even for those
who do not face such extreme events, climate
change is reducing yields and thus smallholder
incomes. While it will remain difficult to plan for
such extreme events, better awareness of the
risks brought by changing climate will help ITC
beneficiaries build resilient businesses.
Additionally, integrating environmental concerns
may unlock competitiveness benefits or revenue
streams that our SME partners may not know
exist. Practices that make efficient use of
natural resource inputs usually have the benefit
of also being economically efficient. Most
significantly, however, is the possibility of
opening new markets with certified products
that meet high environmental standards.
Increasingly, ITC will be helping support these
businesses gain access to certification, directly
and through trade-supporting institutions. These
products often fetch premium prices, helping
producers create and capture higher value form
their businesses. Increasingly such certifications
are not simply a premium, but a prerequisite for
selling to selective buyers from wealthy
markets. In short, mainstreaming will be critical
for ensuring that ITC continues to help shape
profitable and economically sustainable
businesses.
15
Contact person: Alexander Kasterine
Head, Trade and Environment Programme
Division of Market Development
E-mail: kasterine@intracen.org / environment@intracen.org
Street address: ITC, 54-56, rue de Montbrillant, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland
Postal address: ITC, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Internet: www.intracen.org/itc-environment-blog/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ITCenvironment
Twitter: @ITCenvironment