Voices for BioJustice develops innovative approaches to build capacity and facilitate the direct, substantive and authentic contributions of local groups to policy design and implementation. The goal is to make the use of biodiversity more equitable and sustainable, and policies more effective and just.
Voices for Biojustice focuses on policy processes that impact local communities, traditional knowledge and resources, and biodiversity, including those relating to access and benefit-sharing (ABS), non-timber forest products (NTFPs), and biodiversity conservation.
The initiative also addresses emerging technologies with an impact on biodiversity and local groups.
The initiative is conceived as a learning process, exploring models for low-cost, effective ways to help often-marginalised groups engage with environmental and social justice issues, technological change, and emerging policy arenas.
There are three components to the Voices for BioJustice program: bringing the voices of local groups into policy-making; developing practical policy resources and tools; and deepening the policy dialogue.
OUR OBJECTIVES
Bring the voices and experiences of local groups to policy-makers, including those of indigenous peoples and local communities often left out of policy-making.
Develop innovative tools and approaches to presenting technically complex and potentially overwhelming information in ways that are digestible and accessible to a range of different actors.
Work with governments and others to develop more equitable, practical, and effective laws and policies.
Support the conservation of biological and cultural diversity by promoting policies and laws that strengthen, rather than undermine, cultures and livelihoods interwoven with biologically diverse landscapes.