On 15 November, a workshop on biodiversity and trade was organised by the JRC (JRC.D.6-Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity with strong support from colleagues from JRC.S.1, JRC.D.1 and JRC.D.4) and the Partnership for European Environmental Research (PEER). The JRC is a member of PEER, a partnership of eight European environmental institutes seeking to enhance research on ecological sustainability.
The objective of the workshop was to contribute to the development of a policy-relevant research agenda on European trade and global biodiversity. The workshop was held in Brussels at the EU Policy Lab, which provides a space for applying collaborative, systemic and forward-looking approaches to help bring scientific knowledge into EU policymaking.
The issue: trade’s impact on biodiversity
International trade has a large biodiversity footprint. In a globalised world, the interplay of policies, trade and resource management decisions connect distant places and people in complex ways, with significant impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity, both inside and outside of the EU. A range of interventions is needed to reduce these impacts, from regulating wildlife trade to promoting sustainability across global supply chains.
The scope is very broad, as the links between biodiversity and trade are both direct and indirect, they are influenced by a range of policies, and their analysis requires multi-disciplinary scientific expertise.
The workshop
The workshop focused on highlighting key knowledge needs and gaps for relevant EU policies and mapping them against the findings of ongoing scientific work to identify priority research topics and questions.
It brought together colleagues from a range of Commission DGs, researchers from PEER institutes involved in the project, and some other experts (e.g. from the OECD and the European Parliament Research Service).
The event lasted only half a day and as much time as possible was dedicated to substantial discussions. It provided an occasion for very insightful presentations and discussions thanks to the active engagement of all participants. A variety of topics were covered, from current challenges in quantifying the impacts of trade on biodiversity and analysing root causes to the assessment of the effects of policies, trade agreements and multilateral environmental agreements, and the strengthening of data and models.
Outcomes and findings
As an outcome, the project aims to catalyse new research collaboration and initiatives within the PEER network and beyond. Also, it should provide inspiration for the co-creation process for the preparation of the next work programme under Horizon Europe. Ultimately, this should facilitate follow-up from the scientific community to provide answers to the needs identified.
The output of the workshop will be summarised in a report that will be circulated among the participants and used by the PEER research team to revise the preliminary research agenda. When finalised, this contribution to a strategic research agenda will be published, with a final event planned for March 2025.