South Africa's Biotrade Forum Empowers Women to drive Conservation for Sustainable Livelihoods
Pretoria, 3 March 2026 - South African women and this year’s International Women’s Day theme “Give to Gain” were placed at the center of a powerful, action-oriented conversation that identified concrete ways cultural knowledge, stewardship over natural resources, and market-access technical requirements could be combined to deliver sustainable livelihoods.
Ms. Preshanthie Naicker, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment (DFFE), presented the Conservation and Sustainable Use Charter for Biotrade, a voluntary, risk‑based, phased mechanism piloted in value chains such as Honeybush, Rooibos and Pelargonium. The Charter is designed to lower barriers for micro, small and medium enterprises and to make sustainability claims verifiable using simple evidence formats. It creates a progressive pathway from self‑assessment to peer review and optional external verification, ensuring women‑led ventures are not excluded by cost or complexity. The discussion also called for stronger coordination among government, industry associations and community groups so verification becomes supportive rather than burdensome.
A spotlight conversation wove together poetry, community narratives and technical insights to transform the theme “give to gain” into concrete actions, highlighting coaching, peer learning and accessible training as investments in nature‑based solutions. It emphasized resilient practices such as intercropping medicinal and aromatic plants alongside food and cash crops so conservation can yield a second income stream. Dr. Camilo Antonio, poet & cultural curator captured the Forum’s moral imperative when he said, “survival economics must be at the core by building linkages that give as much as they gain. When women step forward with courage and are given the tools and respect they deserve, conservation becomes an enduring flame that sustains life and livelihoods.” Dr. Elsie Meintjies, Chief Technical Advisor, GQSP-SA, noted that the linkage between “conservation and quality go hand in hand when communities lead through traditional knowledge.“
The forum affirmed that protecting biodiversity and unlocking market value are inseparable: when women, the custodians of knowledge and stewards of the land are equipped, coached and invested in, conservation becomes a pathway to resilient livelihoods and credible market entry, concluding that “give to gain” is not only a theme but a clear strategy: when stakeholders give time, training, finance and market linkage with women at the center, the gain is stronger biodiversity stewardship, resilient rural households and credible market entry for South Africa’s biotrade products.
The Charter is a conservation and sustainability practical seed initiative. We need to plant it with women at the centre, nurture it with investment and training, and together South Africa will harvest a greener, fairer and more prosperous biotrade future.
The SECO-supported Biotrade Portfolio in South Africa supports GQSP-SA, ABioSA, SIPPO and Swiss PartnershIP to promote innovative, sustainable and inclusive biotrade sector.
Watch the video here
For more information, please contact Mr. Bernard Bau, B.BAU [at] unido.org
