Trade, Development and the Environment (TRADE) Hub

How can we make the global trade of goods with high biodiversity impact more sustainable?

The trade in wild and farmed species has great potential for creating long-term jobs and boosting economic growth, particularly in developing countries. However, overhunting, overfishing and overfarming can lead to population crashes, habitat destruction, and impaired livelihoods for local people.

The TRADE Hub brings together over 50 organisations (industry, trade agencies, academia, governments and civil society) from 15 different countries, all studying various stages of the supply chain and able to reveal damaging links and constructive pathways for sustainable change.

The Luc Hoffmann Institute played a vital role in the co-design and development of the global theory of change that guided the first five years of the initiative’s work programme. The TRADE Hub investigates the trends and impacts of trade in wildlife, wild meat and agricultural goods, tracing their trade globally including Brazil, Cameroon, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Indonesia, Republic of Congo, and Tanzania. Mapping a plant or animal’s journey, all the way from its origin, through trading companies and to the consumer, reveals the full impact of trade on people and the natural world.

The results of the trade mapping will feed into recommendations on how to sustainably produce, trade and consume wild products and goods, as well as help companies to understand their full environmental impact. In addition, a modelling tool will be produced that predicts how shifts in trade routes affect both people and nature. Countries, companies and decision makers can use the model and help to make trade a positive force for sustainable development. The Trade Hub is financed by the UK Research and Innovation’s Global Challenges Research Fund (UKRI GCRF) and led by the UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

For this initiative, the Luc Hoffmann Institute partnered with the Asian Institute of Technology and the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).

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