Developing, formulating and implementing a voluntary commitment 

In the context of BIODEV2030, a voluntary commitment is an agreement by which one or more stakeholders commit to mobilise and establish a series of shared, forward-looking and strategic actions or initiatives, based on science, to instigate that is both positive and measurable on the state of biodiversity.

Why?

Strengthening the national policy mix for biodiversity conservation

What?

A moral commitment formalised in writing and made public

By whom?  

By all the legitimate stakeholders (private and public actors, SCO) in a given sector at different territorial levels

How?

They must be explicitly stated: concrete, targeted, achievable, and replicable

BIODEV2030 seeks to promote voluntary commitments (VCs) from sectoral stakeholders in the 16 pilot countries. These VCs will contribute to a Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, driven by society as a whole, reflecting not only the mobilisation of the States, but also the mobilisation of economic and civil society stakeholders, in favour of biodiversity.

The prerequisites for the development and adoption of these sectoral voluntary commitments is to share knowledge and aspirations amongst all stakeholders, as well as an inclusive and transparent negotiation process.

The BIODEV2030 method for bringing
about voluntary commitments

The methodology proposed by BIODEV2030 relies on 2 phases, to stimulate the formulation of specific, and therefore effective, voluntary commitments:

  1. Information and diagnosis to raise awareness on the necessity for change in conjunction with the degradation of natural resources and identification of the key economic sectors on which to act as a priority
  2. Establishing multi-stakeholder platforms to catalyse a dialogue between the relevant stakeholders and thereby co-construct voluntary sectoral commitments.

The voluntary commitments are constructed on the sound understanding of diagnosis results, on the involvement of the relevant stakeholders along the process, and on the acknowledgement of the plurality of interests and values that constitute the commitments.

Our recommendations for development of a voluntary commitment 

The voluntary commitment must:

Consider the magnitude of the anticipated change

on biodiversity (through indicators) from its very inception

Be linked to the value chains

with identified stakeholders and a defined favourable environment

Be part of a long-term trajectory, in line with SMART indicators and objectives

(i.e. it must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound)

Be accompanied by an action plan and a detailed implementation plan

(targets & roles of the stakeholder)

Be anchored in National Strategic Action Plans

(NSAPs), NDCs and other international treaties

Include a reporting and evaluation system

managed at the level of the territorial unit in question. Such a system will allow a review of the objectives and available resources based on the results, will allow to compare changes in practices and to measure the impacts on the state of biodiversity.

The voluntary commitment can be reinforced if it is supported by additional actions (technical, financial or human resources, State incentives, resources dedicated to stakeholders coordination, promoting the stakeholders involved, etc.)  which could facilitate or accelerate the anticipated change. To do this the voluntary commitment should:

  • clarify the role of the State, of NGOs and/or the role of financial stakeholders involved,
  • suggest actions where success depends on a collaborative approach involving multiple stakeholders,
  • not subject the commitment of the sectoral stakeholders to the implementation of the enabling conditions.

The voluntary commitment can be legitimatised if it is co-constructed by all the relevant stakeholders for the subject-matter area, in the sector or in the region, and by relying on the opinion leaders who have a capacity for mainstreaming.

Once the voluntary commitment is signed by the stakeholders, it will be important to enhance it with positive communication concerning the efforts and commitments of the stakeholders.

From January 20 to 25, the BIODEV2030 team met for a workshop on the preparatory steps to support the stakeholders of each country in the development and negotiation of specific sectoral voluntary commitments. This workshop consisted in four modules, relating to both the content of the voluntary commitment and the mobilisation strategy of the stakeholders.

The workshop combined theoretical contributions, group brainstorming and expert interventions. It resulted in a road map, with which the participants will be able to pursue the considerations discussed in the workshop, translate and adapt them in their respective action plans at the national level.

Based on the analysis of the cotton sector in Burkina Faso, the participants defined the key elements that can be expected in the context of sector analysis. This practical case identified a list of six points for establishing the link between sector, change, and key stakeholders:

  1. Include a complete, critical and quantified analysis of the value chains
  2. Identify the key changes necessary at each stage of the value chain
  3. Identify key stakeholders of the change; these are the stakeholders who will either bring about the change or influence the change
  4. Describe the best practices and the practices that are replicable
  5. Analyse the costs of the measures leading to change and present the behavioural patterns of the sector, if these patterns are in place
  6. Not forgetting the informal sector.

This module provided an opportunity to work on a common definition and clarify the scope of the sectoral voluntary commitments. Given the variety of VCs possible, in terms of scale and stakeholders, the participants agreed on the importance of adequately specifying the VC so that it can be monitored through key indicators and of a monitoring and evaluation protocol. Likewise, the participants agreed on the necessity of anchoring the VC in the national and international strategic action plans (NBSAPs, NDCs, etc.), and the need to support these initiatives with additional actions to reach a consensus among the participants.  However, such anchoring in the regulatory approaches must not occur at the expense of listening to and considering the propositions submitted by the sectoral stakeholders.

In group sessions the participants continued their analysis of the stakeholders (governments and local authorities, private sector, and civil society organisations) according to their interests, motivations and constraints. This step is a prerequisite for preparing the stakeholders mobilisation and negotiation steps.
In a second part, four experts shared their experiences on two completed negotiation processes 1) in the aluminium sector and 2) in the shrimp farming sector, brought into perspective by another testimony on the growing interest on the part of donors for sustainable investments and the added-value of chains proposing these types of commitments.

The conversation, fuelled by the experiences shared in Module 3, transitioned the focus back to the stakeholders’ commitment. In negociations, it is essential not to attempt to convince the stakeholders, but rather to listen to them in order to develop VCs built on consensus. The participants also reiterated the central role of the CDB national focal point. Moreover, feedbacks from Senegal and from Kenya brought discussions concerning the inter-sectoral and country approaches in the BIODEV2030 project. If, in some instances, the local level offers a privileged point of entry for the mobilisation of stakeholders, liaison with central administration must be assured at each stage of the project.

Documents to download

Policy brief – Benchmarks used by the BIODEV2030 team for quality voluntary commitments

Download the resource

Documents to download

Learnings – Infographics : an approach to reach voluntary sectoral commitments

Download the resource