Periodic Reporting for period 2 - CLEVER (Creating leverage to enhance biodiversity outcomes of global biomass trade)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2024-03-01 do 2025-08-31
CLEVER investigates how international trade in non-food biomass impacts the biodiversity in producer countries. This involves the development of improved biodiversity metrics for extended life cycle analyses, a stakeholder co-design approach to developing policy and private governance solution based on policy analysis, and economic analyses of cause-effect relationships between trade dynamics, national and international policy, and biodiversity. Insights from these various lines of research inform our work on GLOBIOM, a global modelling tool, that will be used to assess alternative policy scenarios to reduce the impact of trade on biodiversity.
For understanding links between trade and biodiversity (Objective I) key achievements included:
- Internal surveys and interviews with several CLEVER researchers to build the stakeholder maps for soy, timber, and fishmeal/oil trade (T8.1)
- Collaboration for refinement of default characterization factors (CFs) of direct biodiversity loss (WP6) by using biodiversity estimates (WP2);
- GLOBIOM model enhancements to better characterize non-food biomass production practices (T6.1);
- Development of a tool to assess the carbon and biodiversity footprints of Brazilian soy derivatives exported to the global market, and related workshops.
For improving empirical evidence on causal relationships between value chain governance and biodiversity (Objective II), key achievements are:
- Quantitative data compilation, processing, and econometric analyses (T3.1-4)
- Qualitative interviews (N~200) with value chain actors from the focus value chains in Brazil, Cameroon, and Gabon (T4.2-3 T5.1-2)
- Integration of trade effects into GLOBIOM model to assess long-term biodiversity and policy impacts (linked to D7.3);
- Stakeholder co-design (WP3, WP8) through workshops and interviews to define hypotheses and empirical approaches.
For disseminating co-designed knowledge on potential leverage points for biodiversity conservation (Objective III), key achievements are:
- Established a Stakeholder Reference Group and internal procedures to govern stakeholder engagement and interactions for co-design (T8.1 T8.3)
- Organized policy-oriented events and workshops with active stakeholder participation and contributions from other cluster projects (T8.4-5)
- Three stakeholder workshops (by Bonn.realis) to refine modelled scenarios for the soy, aquaculture and forestry sectors: policy interventions, environmental impacts, and future trends, throughout 2024 and 2025;
- CLEVER Feedback Workshop in Cameroon and Gabon, on October 2024
- Internal surveys and interviews with several CLEVER researchers to build the stakeholder maps for soy, timber, and fishmeal/oil trade (T8.1)
- Collaboration for refinement of default characterization factors (CFs) of direct biodiversity loss (WP6) by using biodiversity estimates (WP2);
- GLOBIOM model enhancements to better characterize non-food biomass production practices (T6.1);
- Development of a tool to assess the carbon and biodiversity footprints of Brazilian soy derivatives exported to the global market, and related workshops.
For improving empirical evidence on causal relationships between value chain governance and biodiversity (Objective II), key achievements are:
- Quantitative data compilation, processing, and econometric analyses (T3.1-4)
- Qualitative interviews (N~200) with value chain actors from the focus value chains in Brazil, Cameroon, and Gabon (T4.2-3 T5.1-2)
- Integration of trade effects into GLOBIOM model to assess long-term biodiversity and policy impacts (linked to D7.3);
- Stakeholder co-design (WP3, WP8) through workshops and interviews to define hypotheses and empirical approaches.
For disseminating co-designed knowledge on potential leverage points for biodiversity conservation (Objective III), key achievements are:
- Established a Stakeholder Reference Group and internal procedures to govern stakeholder engagement and interactions for co-design (T8.1 T8.3)
- Organized policy-oriented events and workshops with active stakeholder participation and contributions from other cluster projects (T8.4-5)
- Three stakeholder workshops (by Bonn.realis) to refine modelled scenarios for the soy, aquaculture and forestry sectors: policy interventions, environmental impacts, and future trends, throughout 2024 and 2025;
- CLEVER Feedback Workshop in Cameroon and Gabon, on October 2024
WP2
- Innovative methodology correcting for sampling effort bias in biodiversity models;
- Improved Biodiversity metrics (Species richness, abundance, and endemism);
* Impacts: more accurate and comprehensive information about biodiversity impacts for planning and expanding conservation efforts.
WP 3
- Sourcing patterns change in response demand shocks in combination with voluntary and mandatory due diligence initiatives as well as to changes in deforestation risk at the supply side;
- Heterogeneous effects of trade policy on aquaculture expansion in young versus mature industries;
* Impacts: Public and private decision-makers develop more effective policy proposals to address indirect drivers of biodiversity loss
WP4 & WP5
- Map of public and private policies and governance mechanisms;
- Theoretical framework & Value chain actors’ behavioral responses to the EU Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR)
* Impacts: (1) from the DoA and (2) Interdisciplinary biodiversity research around these value chains is more interconnected across Europe, South America, and Central Africa.
WP6
- Improvements to the representation of global non-food biomass value chains and trade in modeling;
- Preliminary environmental footprint for soybean imports from Brazil to the EU at the subnational scale, including emissions and resource consumption per unit of soy for the supply chains identified.
* Impacts: (1) from the DoA and (2) biodiversity interrelations with climate, water, and food are better known.
WP7
- Analysis of potential future development of selected supply chains and related pressures on biodiversity & Ecosystem Service;
- Analysis on the effectiveness, efficiency and co-benefits of various supply chain policy / governance initiatives.
* Impacts (1) from the DoA and (2) Approaches and strategies to enable transformative societal change linked to CLEVER’s focus value chains are identified at the policy level.
WP8
- Innovation Action Pool;
- Co-designed Modelling Framework for Supply Chain Governance Initiatives;
* Impacts: Effective communication at the science-policy interface on indirect drivers of biodiversity impacts and SDG interrelationships in these value chains leads to more ambitious international environmental policy and conventions; value chain actors mainstream ‘do no harm’ biodiversity strategies informed by CLEVER’s tools and data products.
- Innovative methodology correcting for sampling effort bias in biodiversity models;
- Improved Biodiversity metrics (Species richness, abundance, and endemism);
* Impacts: more accurate and comprehensive information about biodiversity impacts for planning and expanding conservation efforts.
WP 3
- Sourcing patterns change in response demand shocks in combination with voluntary and mandatory due diligence initiatives as well as to changes in deforestation risk at the supply side;
- Heterogeneous effects of trade policy on aquaculture expansion in young versus mature industries;
* Impacts: Public and private decision-makers develop more effective policy proposals to address indirect drivers of biodiversity loss
WP4 & WP5
- Map of public and private policies and governance mechanisms;
- Theoretical framework & Value chain actors’ behavioral responses to the EU Regulation on deforestation-free products (EUDR)
* Impacts: (1) from the DoA and (2) Interdisciplinary biodiversity research around these value chains is more interconnected across Europe, South America, and Central Africa.
WP6
- Improvements to the representation of global non-food biomass value chains and trade in modeling;
- Preliminary environmental footprint for soybean imports from Brazil to the EU at the subnational scale, including emissions and resource consumption per unit of soy for the supply chains identified.
* Impacts: (1) from the DoA and (2) biodiversity interrelations with climate, water, and food are better known.
WP7
- Analysis of potential future development of selected supply chains and related pressures on biodiversity & Ecosystem Service;
- Analysis on the effectiveness, efficiency and co-benefits of various supply chain policy / governance initiatives.
* Impacts (1) from the DoA and (2) Approaches and strategies to enable transformative societal change linked to CLEVER’s focus value chains are identified at the policy level.
WP8
- Innovation Action Pool;
- Co-designed Modelling Framework for Supply Chain Governance Initiatives;
* Impacts: Effective communication at the science-policy interface on indirect drivers of biodiversity impacts and SDG interrelationships in these value chains leads to more ambitious international environmental policy and conventions; value chain actors mainstream ‘do no harm’ biodiversity strategies informed by CLEVER’s tools and data products.