New CI-SCP Working Group on Biodiversity Communication!

Published on November 27, 2020

Promoting sustainable consumption with information, communication and international cooperation

A New Working Group to Protect Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

The links between prevailing consumption patterns and the loss of biodiversity become clear by looking at the resource consumption and environmental impacts along the entire life cycle of a product. For example, food consumption is the most important cause of biodiversity loss, accounting for 40% of quantified losses in most countries and regions, primarily linked to land use changes.
To contribute to a paradigm shift, the One Planet network Consumer Information Programme recently set up a new working group on “Biodiversity Communication”, led by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the German Federal Ministry for the Environment (BMU). The working group brings together different stakeholder groups including civil society, business, policy makers and representatives of science. Thus, a multi-stakeholder approach is used to promote the topic of biodiversity and consumption.

How the Working Group Aims to Bring About Change

The working group has three fields of action: Information, Communication and Cooperation. Under these pillars, the working group aims to raise awareness for the consequences of consumption on biodiversity and ecosystem services, strengthen, enable and promote communication about consumption and biodiversity, and integrate biodiversity aspects into international processes on sustainable consumption and production (SCP). This will be done for example by creating an online toolkit for communication and cooperation for sustainable consumption, disseminating information materials on the impact of consumption on biodiversity and organising outreach activities such as webinars and an international conference. The efforts of the working group will cover various consumption areas.

Supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

With its activities, the working group supports the achievement of SDG 12 on responsible consumption and production by enabling consumers to make more sustainable product choices. The working group further supports SDG 14 and 15 on life below water and on land, by promoting biodiversity aspects and SDG 17 on partnerships for the goals by using a multi-stakeholder approach.