D2.1 - Literature review and conceptual framework on mechanisms of how biomass trade affects biodiversity as input to D3.2

International trade of agricultural exports has recently been linked to almost half of global biodiversity losses. Trade flow analyses indicate that an increasing share of products consumed in the global north is produced in the global south, where biodiversity is the highest, and where the livelihoods of many local communities depend on nature. To address this issue, trade-related environmental policies and governance mechanisms are currently being designed and implemented; however, whether these may effectively mitigate biodiversity decline remains uncertain. One reason is that metrics to measure biodiversity impact are still in their infancy, and thus there are uncertainties about their accuracy and comparability across regions and over time. Another important reason is that there are cross-disciplinary gaps in our theoretical and empirical understanding of the mechanisms through which trade affects biodiversity.To shed light on these research gaps across scientific fields, we reviewed recent scientific literature linking agricultural trade and biodiversity, and identified different thematic areas that aim to explain potential trade-driven impacts on biodiversity. We cover the following themes:a) Environmental impacts of trade liberalizationb) Comparative advantage and the potential of land sparingc) Highly heterogeneous effects across crops and regionsd) Governance solutions for future sustainabilityTaking the drivers and mechanisms identified in the literature into consideration, in the second half of this report we propose a conceptual framework for subsequent CLEVER work, “Addressing trade-driven biodiversity impacts”. Here, we provide a non-exhaustive overview of currently available biodiversity metrics (alongside limitations and considerations), and relate the hypotheses identified in section 1 to conditions that determine the potential leverage of different policies and governance mechanisms.We conclude by highlighting remaining research gaps, relevant hypotheses to be tested, and recommend pathways forward towards designing and evaluating cross-sectoral agri-environmental policies that have an impact on biodiversity outcomes.