Context and issue

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework calls for biodiversity to be integrated across policies, sectors, value chains and financial flows. For this to happen, biodiversity action must increasingly connect with real-economy sectors that shape land use, material demand, investment decisions, livelihoods and development pathways.

The built environment is one such sector. Construction is closely connected to material consumption, land use, climate impacts, urban development, housing needs and public procurement. Growing interest in renewable and bio-based materials creates an opportunity to rethink how buildings and infrastructure can contribute to more sustainable development pathways. However, increased use of wood in construction can only support biodiversity objectives if it is connected to sustainable forest management, responsible sourcing, biodiversity safeguards, legality, traceability, inclusive governance and credible assurance.

This side event will use sustainable wood construction, including the emerging Building for Forests action agenda, as a practical case for exploring how forest-based value chains can contribute to implementation of the Global Biodiversity Framework. The discussion will focus on the conditions needed to scale forest-based solutions in ways that support ecosystem integrity, sustainable use, climate resilience, livelihoods and responsible economic development.

The issue is not simply whether wood can play a larger role in the built environment. The key question for biodiversity stakeholders is how increased demand for wood and other forest-based materials can be aligned with healthy forests, sustainable management, restoration, community benefits, rights-sensitive implementation and long-term biodiversity outcomes.

Objective

The objective of the session is to clarify how sustainable wood construction and responsible forest-based value chains can contribute to GBF implementation, and what conditions are needed for credible uptake by governments, cities, finance actors, construction stakeholders, forest owners, producers and sustainability systems.

The session will explore how sustainable forest management, responsible sourcing, built-environment demand, finance, procurement, data, traceability and assurance can work together as part of the practical implementation infrastructure needed for biodiversity action. It will consider how forest-based value chains can help reduce pressure on ecosystems, support sustainable use, strengthen rural livelihoods, create opportunities for smallholders and SMEs, and provide renewable materials for climate-resilient development.

The discussion will also help connect biodiversity priorities with related policy and market agendas, including sustainable consumption and production, public and private procurement, business action, finance, restoration, nature’s contributions to people, climate resilience, accessible and affordable housing, sustainable cities and inclusive implementation.

Format and speakers

The side event will be structured as a moderated strategic dialogue with short framing reflections followed by interactive discussion. The format is designed to move beyond general statements of ambition and focus on practical implementation conditions, barriers and opportunities.

Proposed speakers and contributors include:

• FAO, providing a perspective on forests, sustainable use, livelihoods, capacity building, national implementation, innovation and the broader role of forests in achieving biodiversity, climate and development objectives.
• PEFC International, providing a perspective on sustainable forest management, responsible sourcing, certification, assurance and the role of credible sustainability systems in supporting implementation across forest-based value chains.
• UN-Habitat, providing a perspective on sustainable urban development, accessible and affordable housing, resilient cities and how material choices in the built environment can support inclusive development while reducing pressure on ecosystems.
• IIASA/SITCA, demonstrating the triple win situation for climate, adequate housing and biodiversity.
• IUFRO, examining how forest management can support both economic and ecological goals.
• Sumitomo Forestry, showcasing how sustainable forest management and timber construction add economic and environmental values.

 

Expected outcomes

The event is expected to generate a clearer biodiversity-facing narrative for sustainable wood construction and responsible forest-based value chains. It will help show how increased use of wood in the built environment can support biodiversity objectives when embedded in sustainable forest management, responsible sourcing, safeguards and credible implementation systems.

Expected outcomes include:

• increased understanding among biodiversity stakeholders of how sustainable wood construction can contribute to GBF implementation;
• identification of key safeguards and enabling conditions for responsible uptake of forest-based solutions in the built environment;
• practical insights on how sustainable forest management, procurement, finance, construction, assurance and policy alignment can reinforce each other;
• stronger recognition of the role of responsible forest-based value chains in supporting biodiversity, climate resilience, livelihoods, adequate housing and sustainable development;
• identification of partnership opportunities with governments, cities, finance actors, construction stakeholders, research institutions, civil society and sustainability systems;
• feedback from CBD stakeholders on how sustainable wood construction initiatives, including Building for Forests, can better reflect biodiversity priorities, national circumstances, local capacity needs and rights-sensitive implementation.

By connecting the Global Biodiversity Framework with practical action in the built environment and forest-based value chains, the session will help position sustainable wood construction not simply as a climate or materials agenda, but as a credible implementation pathway that can contribute to biodiversity, forests, livelihoods and resilient development when supported by safeguards, inclusive governance and responsible sourcing.