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Target 4: Sustainable Consumption and Production and Use of Natural SBSTTA Review Draft GBO4 – Technical Document – Chapter 4 DO NOT CITE 1 Target 4: Sustainable consumption and production and use of 2 natural resources 3 4 By 2020, at the latest, governments, business and stakeholders at all levels have 5 taken steps to achieve or have implemented plans for sustainable production and 6 consumption and have kept the impacts of use of natural resources well within safe 7 ecological limits. 8 9 Preface 10 11 The use of natural resources takes place at the society-nature interface. Society 12 extracts natural resources from ecosystems that enter production processes to 13 satisfy consumption. But society’s dependence on nature goes beyond provisioning 14 services provided by ecosystems. Society also relies on the regulating and supporting 15 capacities of ecosystems. For example, ecosystems can work as a sink for pollutants 16 generated as by-products of the economic process, but also can be an important 17 element of cultural identity or human well-being. Using an ecosystem within its 18 ecological limits requires, at least, that the rate at which society extracts resources 19 and generates pollution does not exceed its regeneration time and absorption 20 capacity (UNEP, 2010). 21 22 Aichi Target 4 aims at contributing to the target established by the Johannesburg 23 Plan of Implementation of changing unsustainable patterns of consumption and 24 production by requiring that by 2020 the Parties have taken, or planning to take 25 measures to promote sustainable consumption and production (SCP). In this chapter 26 we aim to understand which steps have been taken towards the achievement of Aichi 27 Target 4. We first provide a brief overview of internationally agreed goals towards 28 SCP, together with an overview of current SCP initiatives worldwide. After, we explore 29 some of the indicators suggested by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to 30 assess progress towards the target (CBD, 2012). These include the Ecological 31 Footprint (EF) and related indicators as well as trends in population and extinction 32 risk of utilized species. We analyse the EF, the Human Appropriation of Net Primary 33 Production (HANPP), the Water Footprint (WF) and the Primary Production Required 34 to sustain marine fisheries (PPR). 35 36 The EF measures the amount of biologically productive land needed to fulfil human 37 consumption and to absorb anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions 38 (Wackernagel and Rees, 1996). The WF measures the freshwater required for the 39 production or consumption of a country and the freshwater required to assimilate 40 the load of pollutants (Hoekstra and Hung, 2002). The rationale behind the choice of 41 the indicators was to cover pressures from consumption and production on 42 terrestrial, freshwater and also marine ecosystems. For terrestrial ecosystems, EF and 43 HANPP were used. The EF provides information on the effects of consumption 44 patterns, by considering trade it also allows to understand how a country 45 appropriates domestic and international biocapacity. The HANPP is spatially explicit 46 and provides an indication of the intensity of land use, in comparison with EF, it 1 SBSTTA Review Draft GBO4 – Technical Document – Chapter 4 DO NOT CITE 1 allows a better understanding of the effects of production on the ecosystems (Haberl 2 et al., 2004a). These are different metrics that provide complementary information. 3 We also explore the trends in the extinction status of utilised species, through the 4 Red List Index (RLI). Section 1 ends with short term (2020) projections of the main 5 indicators. Section 2 focuses on the main actions required to achieved Target 4, as 6 well a cost-benefit analysis. Section 3 highlights the implications for biodiversity of 7 not achieving the Target. Section 4 provides a long-term vision (2050) of the 8 evolution of the indicators and achievement of the Target. Section 5 discusses the 9 uncertainties. Finally, Section 6 provides a summary table of the progress towards 10 the achievement of the Target. 11 12 13 1. Are we on track to achieve the 2020 target? 14 15 1.a. Status and trends 16 17 There is widespread recognition that production and consumption patterns are the 18 main cause of environmental degradation (UN, 1992; UN, 2002; UN, 2012). Several 19 initiatives, at different geographical scales, have been put in place to address 20 society’s unsustainable patterns of consumption and production. 21 22 At the international level, the adoption in 2012 of the 10-Year Framework of 23 Programmes (10YFP) on Sustainable Production and Consumption developed by the 24 Marrakesh Process was the latest effort towards SCP. The 10YFP main objectives are 25 the support of regional and national policies and initiatives to accelerate the shift 26 towards SCP, provide technical assistance and capacity building to developing 27 countries and serve as a platform for international knowledge sharing (UN, 2012). 28 Two main means of implementation are a trust fund, to support SCP programs and 29 the global SCP clearinghouse, to support knowledge sharing (UN, 2012). 30 31 Substantial progress on SCP has been achieved through multilateral environmental 32 agreements (MEAs). For example, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete 33 the Ozone Layer phased out 98% of the ozone-depleting substances (Ozone 34 Secretariat, 2012). Currently, there are six biodiversity related MEAs, all highlight the 35 importance of sustainable use of biodiversity. The Convention on Biological Diversity 36 (CBD) objectives are “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of 37 its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the 38 utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources 39 and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights 40 over those resources and to technologies, and by appropriate funding” (UN, 1992b). 41 The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 42 Flora (CITES) aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals 43 and plants does not threaten their survival. In more than 40 years of existence, CITES 44 has been able to achieve some success, fifty-seven taxa were transferred from 45 Appendix I (species threatened with extinctions) to Appendix II (species whose trade 46 must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival). 2 SBSTTA Review Draft GBO4 – Technical Document – Chapter 4 DO NOT CITE 1 Controls on international trade and national and regional management can be an 2 effective way of improving species conservation status, and promote its sustainable 3 use (UNEP-WCMC, 2013). Nevertheless, a case by case analysis is needed to measure 4 real success (UNEP-WCMC, 2013). The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory 5 Species of Wild Animals (CMS) aims to conserve terrestrial, marine and avian 6 migratory species throughout their range. The main objectives of the International 7 Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture are the conservation and 8 sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and 9 equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use, for sustainable agriculture 10 and food security. The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands main mission is “the 11 conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and 12 international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable 13 development throughout the world”. Currently, approximately 2200 sites are listed 14 as wetlands of international importance and cover 208 million hectares. Finally, the 15 World Heritage Convention (WHC) aims to conserve the world’s natural and cultural 16 heritage. Under this convention approximately 141 sites are conserved due to its 17 natural importance. 18 19 Regional and national scales are very important for SCP policies; as it is at this scale 20 that most of the voluntary, information-based, regulatory and economic tools can 21 operate (UNEP, 2012a). Numerous initiatives at both scales exist (UNEP, 2012a). For 22 example, under the African 10-Year Framework Programme on Sustainable 23 Consumption and Production, a project for the development of an African Eco- 24 labelling scheme is underway. Certification initiatives under different schemes are 25 already in place for several sectors, fisheries, forestry, tourism, leather and textiles, 26 agriculture and energy (Janisch, 2007). However, the development of an African 27 Ecolabelling scheme would help this region to expand market access of African 28 products, enhance the progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and 29 would demonstrate Africa’s engagement in SCP (Janisch, 2007). In Europe, the 30 Europe 2020 strategy presents the growth strategy for the coming decade; one of its 31 pillars is sustainable growth, which aims at promoting a more resource efficient, 32 greener and more competitive economy (EC, 2010). Linked to this strategy is the 33 European Biodiversity Strategy for 2020 (EC, 2011). Through the SWITCH 34 programmes (SWITCH-Med and SWITCH-ASIA), the European Union is fostering 35 cooperation to promote SCP in other regions. The SWITCH-Med is supporting nine 36 countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Palestinian 37 Occupied Territories and Lebanon) in the development of National SCP Action Plans 38 (EC/UNEP, 2012). The SWITCH-Asia program aims to promote
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