December 2011: Authored by experts from the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and published as part of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s (CBD) Technical Series, a new draft study reviews the biodiversity requirements of 36 environmental standards, sampled from eight business sectors.

The study aims to provide an understanding of the treatment of biodiversity across sectors, highlight commonalities and differences, and help businesses and funding agencies to improve their internal processes. Titled “Review of the biodiversity requirements of standards and certification schemes: a snapshot of current practice,” and published as CBD Technical Series no. 63, the review finds some general trends with respect to how biodiversity is treated in standards and certification schemes, as well as the requirements proposed to protect biodiversity, limit threats to biodiversity and promote biodiversity enhancement.

Some of the main findings include: even where standards include similar biodiversity components, there are large differences with respect to the measures adopted to safeguard them; all standards mention the protection of habitats, while most recognize protected areas and a few provide detailed guidance on how to operate near or inside protected areas; and protection measures for species are included in most of standards sampled.

Recommendations address, inter alia: adopting internationally recognized definitions; avoiding the displacement of threats; including modified habitats; providing guidance on operation inside protected areas; recognizing indigenous and community conserved areas; safeguarding priority conservation areas; and adopting the mitigation hierarchy and “no net loss” approaches. [Publication: Review of the biodiversity requirements of standards and certification schemes: a snapshot of current practice]