Biodiversity and Agricultural Commodities Program (BACP), Phase 1

The ultimate objective of the Program is to preserve global genetic, species and ecosystem diversity within agricultural production landscapes. More specifically, the BACP aims to address market failures which prevent private producers, or reduce their incentives, to transition to production methods that are at the same time commercially viable and beneficial to biodiversity. The BACP will seek to do this by identifying a small number of priority commodities on which it will focus and then by working with key private companies and other stakeholders to assist them in implementing and accelerating the adoption of better practices. To achieve its ultimate goal, the Program will adopt a two-pronged strategy of site specific project-level activities and broader commodity-wide initiatives. The objectives of both types of activities will be mutually-supportive: i. Objectives of Project Level Initiatives: a. Demonstrate the biodiversity impact and business benefits of specific changes in production methods or technologies in a given region. The BACP commodity-wide initiatives and / or market forces can then lead to replication of these new practices by other producers.b. Implement proven beneficial production methods in certain regions, or by a given producer, when there are significant market failures that prevent the private sector from implementing it alone.c. Protect specific biodiversity (genetic, species and ecosystem) that is being threatened by the unsustainable production methods of agricultural commodities in a given region / ecosystem. Changes in production methods, which contribute to the restoration of degraded habitats, restoration of wetlands, or biological corridors in agricultural landscapes will be a particular area of focus.d. Create or enhance non-production related biodiversity conservation initiatives engaged in by parties involved in the production of agricultural commodities.ii. Objectives of Commodity-Wide Initiatives: a. Build the capacity and increase the effectiveness of commodity-wide alliances of stakeholders that seek to improve the biodiversity impact of agricultural commodity production.b. Promote, through these existing commodity-wide alliances, the commodity-wide adoption of biodiversity-enhancing production methods, mainstreaming them, to the extent possible, for a given commodity.c. Source opportunities for BACP project level initiatives by identifying specific commodity/biodiversity trends of concern, production methods and / or regions where market failures prevent successful implementation of beneficial production practices and where biodiversity impact can be maximized.d. Help the different participants in the agricultural commodity value chain to integrate biodiversity into their decision and production processes, encouraging the creation of price premiums.