A new version of this application has just been released.
This update may include important fixes, new features, or visual improvements.
To avoid unexpected behavior and ensure you’re working with the latest information, please refresh the page.
Click Refresh Now to update immediately.
Your version: 2026.40.0
Loading...
This record has been deleted. Since it is linked to a published record, it is available here for reference purposes only.
To view the current National Focal Point information, click
here.
Ministry of Finance, Environment, Justice, Health and Agriculture, Department of Parks and Wildlife Management, Department of Forestry, Department of Livestock and Agriculture, Nutrition Agency, Food Quality and Safety, Medical Research Agency
EN
01 Aug 2015
01 Mar 2021
Party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
Yes
EN
Article 2 – General provisions
Article 2 requires each Party to take the necessary and appropriate legal, administrative and other measures to implement its obligations under the Protocol
Only draft measures exist
EN
Other laws, regulations or guidelines that indirectly apply to biosafety
Yes
EN
[Enschrined in the NBSAP which is one of the pillars of The GEAP and thus the NDP. The NDP is in last year of implementation and being reviewed accomodating the current GEAP.
EN
No
EN
No
EN
[ In addition to details in 3rd NR, The Wildlife Act recently reviewed to Biodiversity Act 2020 added to Forest Act 2018]
EN
Article 5 - Pharmaceuticals
Yes, to some extent
EN
[The introduction of medicinal plants that are not modified in the country but from country of origin.]]
EN
[The plants introduced were normally in so sma See contents of 2015. In addition GMOs in form of vaccines and food stock,there is only administrative regulatory body responsible for monitoring the safety of these products ]
EN
Article 6 – Transit and Contained use
Yes, to some extent
EN
[Limited public knowledge of LMO. The Government through Customs and Exercises facilitate transit movement ]
EN
Yes
EN
Yes
EN
[In addition to information in 3rd NR, the boarder porosity is an impedement ]
EN
Articles 7 to 10 – Advance Informed Agreement (AIA) and intentional introduction of LMOs into the environment
Yes, to some extent
EN
[considering national llaws and the respective ammendments]
EN
Yes
EN
No
EN
No
EN
[ Refer to information under 3rd NR. The new Wildlife and Biodiversity Act (Bill) 2020 Sections 52 and 78 to 82 deals with the protection and movement of biological resources. The current Forest Act deals extensively with movement and import - Export ]
EN
Article 11 – Procedure for living modified organisms intended for direct use as food or feed, or for processing (LMOs-FFP)
Yes
EN
Yes, to some extent
EN
[Considering Nutrition Act, Food Safety Regukation and Hygien regulations]
EN
None
EN
Yes
EN
10 or more
EN
[In addition to information in 3rd NR, relevant areas are the Nutrition Act, Food Safety Regukation and Hygien regulations. Also consideration should be made to the trade policies and regulations.]
EN
Article 12 – Review of decision
Yes, to some extent
EN
[Relevant laws including nutrition, food safety and health]
EN
No
EN
[ Refer to 3rd NR ]
EN
Article 13 – Simplified procedure
No
EN
No
EN
[ Refer to 3rd NR ]
EN
Article 14 – Bilateral, regional and multilateral agreements and arrangements
1 to 4
EN
[ Rrefer to 3rd NR ]
EN
[ Rrefer to 3rd NR ]
EN
Articles 15 & 16 – Risk Assessment and Risk Management
No
EN
Yes, to some extent
EN
[ Rrefer to 3rd NR ]
EN
None
EN
None
EN
None
EN
No
EN
Yes
EN
[Capacity building]
EN
No
EN
No
EN
No
EN
No
EN
No
EN
No
EN
No
EN
No
EN
No
EN
No
EN
Yes
EN
Yes, to some extent
EN
[]All agricultural or horticultural products, others like tree species are not monitred to life-cycle]
EN
Yes, to some extent
EN
[ Undertaken by concerned institutions such as NEA with EIA and reports are submitted to the ANR-WG]
EN
No
EN
[Refer to 3rd NR ]
EN
Article 17 – Unintentional transboundary movements2 and emergency measures
2 In accordance with the operational definition adopted in decision CP-VIII/16, “‘Unintentional transboundary movement’ is a transboundary movement of a living modified organism that has inadvertently crossed the national borders of a Party where the living modified organism was released, and the requirements of Article 17 of the Protocol apply to such transboundary movements only if the living modified organism involved is likely to have significant adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health, in the affected or potentially affected States.”
No
EN
None
EN
No
EN
None
EN
[Refer to 3rd NR ]
EN
Article 18 – Handling, transport, packaging and identification
Yes
EN
Yes
EN
Yes
EN
Documentation specific for LMOs
EN
Yes
EN
Documentation specific for LMOs
EN
Yes
EN
Documentation specific for LMOs
EN
Yes
EN
Yes, to some extent
EN
[Maily visual expert verififcatoin and decision of required information. Requirements such as the use of a laboratory is not adequately used without third party, due to none availability of infrastructure, finance and human resources]
EN
10 to 49
EN
No
EN
No
EN
None
EN
No
EN
None
EN
[ Refer to 3rd NR, and addition NEA has an unequiped laboratory that could be made functional to work on LMOs as the country has no laboratory to work on Biosafety ]
EN
Article 19 – Competent National Authorities and National Focal Points
Yes
EN
Yes, to some extent
EN
[The Gambia has a single national authority which still needs to be adopted. The country still relies on the individual institutional setups]
EN
Yes
EN
[Through the coordination of ANRWG]
EN
[ Refer to 3rd NR. The Agriculture and Natural Resources Working Group (ANR-WG) is the technical body that the single national authority system report to ]
EN
Article 20 – Information Sharing and the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH)
Information available but only partially available in the BCH
EN
Information available but only partially available in the BCH
EN
Information available but only partially available in the BCH
EN
Information available and in the BCH
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
Information not available
EN
[ Refer to 3rd NR. The relevant information will be uploaded ]
EN
Yes, to some extent
EN
functions of the BCH National Focal Point directly depends on the meager national budgetary allocations of the host Department]
EN
Yes
EN
Yes, always
EN
No
EN
1 to 4
EN
1 to 9
EN
[ The publications are in the form of reports and correspondences ]
EN
Article 21 – Confidential information
Yes
EN
Yes, always
EN
Article 22 – Capacity-building
No
EN
Yes, to some extent
EN
[[Support has been made for the training of institutional conatct persons such as customs, security officers, environmet sectors and agriculture extension staff. In the same vein, NANA is constantly building capacity on nutrition related biosafety]
EN
Multilateral channels
No
EN
Yes
EN
[The biosafety capacity building]
EN
Easy
EN
Yes
EN
Institutional capacity and human resources
Public awareness, participation and education in biosafety
Information exchange and data management including participation in the Biosafety Clearing-House
Implementation of the documentation requirements under Article 18.2 of the Protocol
Measures to address unintentional and/or illegal transboundary movements of LMOs
No
EN
Yes
EN
Institutional capacity and human resources
Integration of biosafety in cross-sectoral and sectoral legislation, policies and institutions (mainstreaming biosafety)
Risk assessment and other scientific and technical expertise
Risk management
Public awareness, participation and education in biosafety
Information exchange and data management including participation in the Biosafety Clearing-House
Scientific, technical and institutional collaboration at subregional, regional and international levels
Technology transfer
Sampling, detection and identification of LMOs
Socio-economic considerations
Implementation of the documentation requirements for handling, transport, packaging and identification
Handling of confidential information
Measures to address unintentional and/or illegal transboundary movements of LMOs
Scientific biosafety research relating to LMOs
Taking into account risks to human health
Liability and redress
Yes
EN
Yes
EN
[Refer 3rd NR. Three scheduled national trainings supported by GEF. The concluded training were conducted in June 2018 and March 2020. The third training session is being delayed due to COVID-19 Pandemic but likely to be concluded in March 2021. ]
EN
Article 23 – Public awareness and participation
Yes, to some extent
EN
[Through TV, Radios, Bulletins, Seminars, workshops and meetingds]
EN
Yes
EN
[PRCM member states, Senegal]
EN
Yes
EN
Yes
EN
[However not a stand alone but inclusive with other aspects]
EN
Yes
EN
[However not a stand alone but inclusive with other aspects]
EN
No
EN
1 to 4
EN
No
EN
1 to 4
EN
No
EN
Yes
EN
Yes, to some extent
EN
[Mainly due to low western education rate]
EN
1 to 4
EN
Yes
EN
[ Public participation checked by western language barrier. A good number of Gambian population are not literate in the western education system ]
EN
Article 24 – Non-Parties
No
EN
No
EN
No
EN
[ The Wildlife and Forest Acts were reviewed to current Wildlife and Biodiversity Act (Bill) 2020 and Forest Act 2018 ]
EN
Article 25 – Illegal transboundary movements3
3In accordance with the operational definition adopted in decision CP VIII/16, “‘Illegal transboundary movement’ is a transboundary movement of living modified organisms carried out in contravention of the domestic measures to implement the Protocol that have been adopted by the Party concerned”.
Yes
EN
None
EN
[ Refer to 3rd NR, in addition Section 85 of the current Wildlife and Biodiversity Act has dealt with the penalties ]
EN
Article 26 – Socio-economic considerations
Yes
EN
Not applicable (no decisions were taken)
EN
1 to 4
EN
No
EN
No
EN
[ Socio-economic considerations are always an integral part of all the NDP and MEA programmes/plans . The present NDP integrates the NBSAP and the GEAP as integral components ]
EN
Article 28 – Financial Mechanism and Resources
Nothing
EN
Article 33 – Monitoring and reporting
Article 33 requires Parties to monitor the implementation of its obligations under the Cartagena Protocol and to report to the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on measures taken to implement the Protocol
Yes
EN
Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress
Parties to the Cartagena Protocol that are not yet Party to the Supplementary Protocol are also invited to respond to the questions below
No
EN
No
EN
National measures are partially in place
EN
No instruments are in place
EN
Yes
EN
Yes
EN
Yes, the operator must inform the competent authority of the damage
Yes, the operator must evaluate the damage
Yes, the operator must take response measures
Yes
EN
Yes
EN
Permit holder
Person who placed the LMO on the market
Notifier
Importer
Supplier
Yes
EN
[The functions are performed by the BCH Focal person ]
EN
Identify the operator that caused the damage
Determine response measures to be taken by operator
Implement response measures
Yes
EN
Requirement to provide evidence for secure source of funding
Yes, in court rulings
Yes, in other instruments([Institutional Regulations])
No
EN
Other information
[Funding is a concern in the case of the implementation of the protocol in The Gambia. Capacity building encompassing both human resources and institutional capacity is urgently required ]
EN
Comments on reporting format
[ However sufficient areas could be created for more detail reports. It would be an added advantage should the administration of the form result from thematic studies. That should inculcate wider popularization and thus inculcate more commitment] ]
