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BioTrade
​BioTrade is defined, per UNCTAD, as the collection, production, transformation, and commercialization of goods and services derived from native biodiversity (species and ecosystems) under strict environmental, social, and economic sustainability criteria - the BioTrade Principles and Criteria (P&C).
Latest Work
The BioTrade Africa Crop Intelligence Atlas maps the commercial and ecological footprint of 21 high-value African crops across the continent. For each crop — from Shea and Gum Arabic to Vanilla, Rooibos, and Wild Nutmeg — the tool shows where production is currently concentrated, where expansion potential exists based on biome suitability, and what that activity means at scale. Four analytical lenses let you explore the same geography through different frames: the Market overlay quantifies Africa's current and potential share of each crop's global market; Jobs estimates the rural livelihoods supported under current production and the employment multiplier of full market adoption; Carbon maps the sequestration value embedded in agroforestry and wild-harvest landscapes; and Biodiversity situates each country's BioTrade activity within the IUCN-assessed threatened species load of its underlying ecosystems, alongside the estimated hectares of habitat that BioTrade value chains give communities a direct financial reason to protect. The Atlas is designed as a strategic orientation tool — a way to see, at a glance, where the intersections of ecological value, market opportunity, and human livelihood are strongest across the African BioTrade landscape.
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--> click here for the interactive map
--> click here the companion overview (PDF)
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ASSESSMENT OF ABS INITIATIVE
(2025)
DI associates were honored to implemented an evaluation of the ABS Initiative, assessing the GIZ-led ABS initiative, which seeks to strengthen market pathways for BioTrade products.
Applying qualitative methods, we assessed the performance, results, and strategic relevance of the multi-donor, multi-tier, multi-country ABS Initiative against the OECD-DAC criteria, particularly Efficiency, Impact, and Sustainability.
