Natural Justice partners Suneetha Subramanian (United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies) and Wim Hiemstra and Bas Verschuuren (COMPAS) have written an article entitled “Bio-enterprises, endogenous development and well-being”. Posted on UNU’s award-winning web magazine Our World 2.0, the article highlights the links between cultural and biological diversity and systems of stewardship, management and governance that are based on local principles, values and norms. It also explores case studies of organic certification of traditional rice varieties in Karnataka, India, and of the reciprocity economy of agricultural products in Sipe Sipe, Bolivia. It proposes community bio-enterprises as a viable and effective option for locally driven conservation and well-being.
The article is based on a policy brief of the same name that was released at the Convention on Biological Diversity Conference of the Parties in October.