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The United Nations Convention on Biodiversity which began here today, will focus on new strategies to improve the preparedness of the 164-member countries to implement the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety adopted in January 2000.
The preparedness of a majority of the 164 countries, especially developing countries is inadequate, due to inadequate capacity building, which will be a focus area for discussion at the current convention, Charles Gbedemah, Principal Officer, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said.
The meeting will also discuss and take new decisions to further ensuring safe transfer, handing and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) — these are organisms that are genetically modified through use of biotechnology.
10-year strategic plan
It will further take decisions to advance the implementation of the 10-year strategic plan of the protocol (2011-2020) that was adopted in 2010. “Implementation of the protocol involves an elaborate mechanism with key elements such as public awareness, capacity building, financial mechanism and socio-economic considerations,” Gbedemah told mediapersons here.
The Conference of Parties, in the last meeting, had asked the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to make available financial resources to developing member countries to fulfil their obligations under the protocol. “As on December 31, 2011, the Secretariat had received the second national reports from 143 countries, representing 89 per cent of the parties,” he said.
Supplementary protocol
He said, so far, 51 countries signed the Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress, which was open for signature at the UN Headquarters in New York from March 2011 to March 2012. The supplementary protocol is a treaty intended to supplement the Cartagena protocol by providing certain rules and procedures on liability and redress for damage to biodiversity resulting from LMOs. “Signing the protocol only indicates the willingness of the parties to implement the protocol. So far, three countries have ratified the supplementary protocol,” Gbedemah said.
An important development is the establishment of a Biosafety Clearing House as a mechanism to facilitate exchange of information on LMOs. As of May this year, the BCH housed over 3,000 records submitted by Governments.
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