Project launch and Webinar: Seizing the trade and business potential of Blue BioTrade in selected Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) countries

Registration: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/launching-of-the-project-blue-biotrade-in-selected-oecs-countries-tickets-121315386587

Starting this Fall 2020, UNCTAD, in collaboration with the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), will implement an 18-month project to empower small-scale coastal producers from selected OECS member states. This project aims to produce and trade queen conch (Strombus gigas)—a sea mollusc or shellfish—products in domestic, regional and international markets under the Blue BioTrade Principles and Criteria. Blue BioTrade aims to promote trade and investment in marine biological resources in line with social, economic and environmental sustainability criteria, known as the BioTrade Principles and Criteria. The project is funded by OECS with support of the European Union.

This online event will convene project partners, beneficiaries and national and regional stakeholders to discuss the relevance of the project for OECS countries and small island developing states, particularly in preparing national producers to participate in international markets in a COVID19 era.

The project considers conducting stakeholder-owned value chain assessments of queen conch products in the three beneficiary countries: Grenada, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and developing a Blue BioTrade regional implementation plan of action. Queen conch is a highly appreciated seafood delicacy with important non-food uses, including therapeutic products, handicrafts and jewellery.

Since the late 1990s, the global conch market has been estimated at an average of about $60 million annually. While global demand for this Appendix II CITES-listed species is booming, small-scale coastal producers in the Eastern Caribbean do not fully seize the opportunities offered by sustainable conch markets. The project aims to enhance stakeholders’ capacity to identify sustainable and gender-inclusive business opportunities and formulate actions to pilot the application of the 2020 BioTrade Principles and Criteria to the conch value chain.

The project will directly contribute to achieving key targets of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 (Conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources) and 12 (Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns). Also, it will address key economic, environmental, and social objectives of the OECS Development Strategy 2019-2028 and supporting a blue recovery in a COVID-19 scenario.

The online event will be delivered through Webex. You will receive details on how to join in a subsequent email after your registration.