Biodiversity makes up the structure of the ecosystems and habitats that support essential living resources, including wildlife, fisheries, and forests, and it composes ecosystems that maintain oxygen in the air, enrich the soil, purify the water, protect against flood and storm damage, and regulate climate. And it is increasingly threatened by destructive human activities.

Linkages between trade policy and the conservation or loss of biological resources proliferate in an increasingly global marketplace. International trade policies have a significant impact on the earth’s biodiversity and biological resources. They can undermine national and international conservation laws and policies. Trade liberalization can also increase exploitation of natural resources and exacerbate the associated negative impacts on biodiversity.

CIEL seeks to reform trade rules so that they support rather than impede conservation and sustainable use. We also seek to ensure that trade liberalization is paralleled and balanced by stronger frameworks for conservation and sustainable use of biological resources affected by trade.