Second Series of Regional Real-time Online Conferences on Risk Assessment and Risk Management (February 2010)

Conference documents

Official documents

• Provisional Agenda (English / Spanish).
• Annotations to the Provisional Agenda (English / Spanish).

Background Documents: Draft guidance documents to be used as the basis for the discussions

• Draft Roadmap (Item 3.1.i) (in English) - Borrador Roadmap (Item 3.1.i) (en español; traducción informal de cortesía de las Dras. Natalhie Campos y Sol Ortiz)
• Draft Guidance on RA & RM of LM Mosquitoes (Item 3.1.ii)
• Draft Guidance on RA & RM of LM Crops with Tolerance or Resistance to Abiotic Stress (Item 3.1.iii)
• Draft Guidance on RA & RM of LMOs with Stacked Genes or Traits (3.1.iv)

Additional information documents

• General
  • Analysis of the Open-ended Online Expert Forum on Risk Assessment and Risk Management (from November 2008 to February 2009)
• Roadmap (Item 3.1.i)
  • Introductory Comments to the Draft Roadmap (in English) - Comentarios introductorios sobre el Borrador Roadmap (en español; traducción informal de cortesía de las Dras. Natalhie Campos y Sol Ortiz)
  • Testing of the Roadmap using a case-study of an LMO intended for release into the environment
  • Case-study: MON15985
• Modalities for cooperation (Item 3.2)
  • Full Transcript of the Online Discussion Group on "Modalities for Cooperation" (23 Nov - 14 Dec 2009)
• The way forward (Item 3.3)
  • Full Transcript of the Online Discussion Group on the "Way Forward" (23 Nov - 14 Dec 2009)

Guiding Questions

The following guiding questions were extracted from the Annotations to the Provisional Agenda (English / Spanish) and aim at guiding the discussions on the during the online conferences.

3.1. COMMENTS ON THE DRAFT GUIDANCE DOCUMENTS PREPARED BY THE AHTEG ON RISK ASSESSMENT AND RISK MANAGEMENT

(i) Roadmap for risk assessment of LMOs

1. Does the draft “Roadmap for Risk Assessment of LMOs” provide a useful, complete and user-friendly tool to assist you in performing an LMO risk assessment? What amendments would you propose to increase its usefulness and user friendliness?
   
2. Is the draft Roadmap applicable to all types of LMOs and applications within the scope of the Protocol?
   
3. Are the concepts presented in the draft Roadmap clearly and accurately described? Please specify what concepts could be presented better, and what amendments you would advise.
   
4. Is there any issue or concept that is missing from the current draft Roadmap that should be included? If so, please propose a draft text to address the missing issue(s).

(ii) Risk assessment and risk management of LM mosquitoes

1. Is the structure of the draft guidance on “Risk Assessment and Risk Management of LM Mosquitoes” clear?
   
2. Are all relevant scientific issues properly addressed in the draft guidance document? If not, please specify what amendments you would advise.
   
3. Is there any other scientific issue that should be included in this guidance document? If so, please propose a draft text to address the missing issue(s).
   
4. Could you please suggest bibliography on the biology, ecology and genetics of mosquitoes that are relevant to this guidance document?

(iii) Risk assessment and risk management of LM crops with resistance or tolerance to abiotic stress

1. Is the structure of the draft guidance on “Risk Assessment and Risk Management of LM Crops with Resistance or Tolerance to Abiotic Stress” clear?
   
2. Are all relevant scientific issues properly addressed in the draft guidance document? If not, please specify what amendments you would advise.
   
3. Is there any other scientific issue that should be included in this guidance document? If so, please propose a draft text to address the missing issue(s).
   
4. Do you think the definition of “abiotic stresses” shown in the draft guidance document is accurate? If not, please provide a draft text to improve it.
   
5. Could you please suggest references to publications that are relevant to this guidance document?

(iv) Risk assessment and risk management of LMOs with stacked genes or traits

1. Is the structure of the draft guidance on “Risk Assessment and Risk Management of LMOs with Stacked Genes or Traits” clear?
   
2. Are all relevant scientific issues properly addressed in the draft guidance document? If not, please specify what amendments you would advise.
   
3. Is there any other scientific issue that should be included in this guidance document? If so, please propose a draft text to address the missing issue(s).
   
4. Do you think the definitions provided in the draft guidance document are accurate? If not, please provide a draft text to improve them.
   
5. Could you please suggest references to publications that are relevant to this guidance document?

3.2. MODALITIES FOR COOPERATION IN IDENTIFYING LIVING MODIFIED ORGANISMS OR SPECIFIC TRAITS THAT MAY HAVE ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THE CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABLE USE OF BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY, TAKING ALSO INTO ACCOUNT RISKS TO HUMAN HEALTH

1. Which modalities (or mechanisms) would you like to recommend for cooperation in identifying living modified organisms or specific traits that may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health?
   
2. Who should be involved in this cooperation?
   
3. What should be the terms of reference and timeline for this cooperation?

3.3. NEED FOR FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF GUIDANCE ON RISK ASSESSMENT AND RISK MANAGEMENT OF LMOS AND THE WAY FORWARD

1. Is there a need for further development of guidance on risk assessment and risk management of LMOs?
   
2. If a need for further development of guidance exists, what kind of process(es) could be considered for addressing this need?

Technical information

• Please test the Real-time Conference page before the actual conferences. Dates for testing the conference live with the Secretariat will be annouced soon.
• Instructions on how to participate in the Real-time Online Conferences (English).

Live testing with the Secretariat

You may test if the application for the real-time conference is working on your computer at any time (except on the days of the actual conferences) at: Test Real-time Conference. In addition, the Secretariat will also conduct live tests at this address as follows:

• 1st testing: 27 January 2010 (14:00 GMT)
• 2nd testing: 1 February 2010 (14:00 GMT)
• 3rd testing: 3 February 2010 (3:00 GMT)
• 4th testing: 8 February 2010 (14:00 GMT)
• 5th testing: 10 February 2010 (18:00 GMT)

Each testing will last for one hour. To find out the corresponding time at your location please check the Time converter. If these testing times are not convenient to you, please feel free to contact the Secretariat to schedule an alternative time or day to test the real-time conference.

NOTE: If you have not taken part in a previous Real-time Conference, you may need to install a software called "SilverLight" (the installation only takes a few moments, but you may need administrator rights to your computer). If your computer does not have SilverLight installed, you will be prompted to install it the first time you access the test page indicated above.

Conference dates and times

The page for each conference will only be open on the day of the conference. For testing, please go to the test page.

• Second Real-time Online Conference for Africa, 2 February 2010 (10:00 – 14:00 UTC/GMT) (in English)
• Second Real-time Online Conference for Asia and the Pacific, 4 February 2010 (3:00 – 7:00 UTC/GMT) (in English)
• Second Real-time Online Conference for WEOG and CEE, 9 February 2010 (10:00 – 14:00 UTC/GMT) (in English)
• Second Real-time Online Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean, 11 February 2010 (15:00 – 19:00 UTC/GMT) (in Spanish)

To convert UTC/GMT times to your local time please check the "Time Zone Converter".

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