The extinction of wild species is accelerating at an unprecedented rate in human history. International efforts dedicated to the preservation of nature and the sustainable use of natural resources have not permitted to reverse this massive decline. Most of the international commitments made during COP 10 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known as the “Aichi Targets” for the period 2011-2020, will not be met. According to the latest IPBES report, only transformative economic, social, political and technological changes will achieve the goals for 2030 and beyond.

Today, the health crisis linked to the Covid-19 pandemic is a new alert for biodiversity. It reminds the close links between human health, animal health and ecosystem health. It is indeed the degradation of the environment amplified by the globalization of trade and lifestyles, which accelerates the emergence of viruses dangerous for human populations, by combination between viruses of different species.

It is also the increase in contacts between humans and wildlife that stimulate the transmission of zoonosis. This is mainly due to deforestation, but also to the development of wild animal markets and bushmeat consumption.

One of the answers to these challenges is the control and regulation of the wild animal markets. With regard to the consumption of bushmeat, a widespread practice in Africa, prohibition is not always the best answer. Control and mediation are often better and must, in any case, be accompanied by economic measures to allow local populations to substitute bushmeat by other sources of animal protein. In fact, the consumption of bushmeat is linked to eating habits but also meets the nutritional needs of the populations, most often poor, who have no other alternatives.

Faced with these risks, it is therefore essential to work concomitantly to eliminate the causes of poverty and preserve biodiversity. This is what is proposed in the zero draft text of the future global framework for post-2020 biodiversity. Indeed, it includes new objectives taking into account the economic needs of the populations, such as sustainable use and sharing of biodiversity benefits.

Certain economic activities, when designed in association with ecosystems, not only preserve biodiversity, but also can restore it. This is the case for green value chains, which include all activities related to the collect, processing and commercialization of goods and services from biodiversity. They form a very promising opportunity, making it possible both to protect ecosystems and to improve the living conditions of local populations.

On the occasion of the World Biodiversity Day, this new PPI video proposes to illustrate this question of biodiversity conservation and the links with local economic development. It shows two testimonies, one of Alexis Kaboré (NATUDEV) who develops sustainable value chain of honey and shea butter in the PONASI complex in Burkina Faso and one of Caleb Ofori (Herp Ghana) who implements a national ecotourism project in the mountains of eastern Ghana.

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