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Autorité nationale compétente
(CNA)
last updated: 02 mars 2026
Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación
Edif.205, C. Luis Bonilla 206, Panamá, Provincia de Panamá
Ciudad de Panamá,
Panamá
,
- +507 517-0014
The Secretaría Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación (SENACYT) participates as a member of the National Biosafety Commission (CNB), established under Law No. 48 of August 8, 2002, which constitutes the primary legal instrument for the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in Panama.
The National Biosafety Commission (CNB) aims to establish and coordinate the policies of the Panamanian State relating to the regulation of the management of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
SENACYT participates as a member of the CNB alongside the Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA), the Ministry of Health (MINSA), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MICI), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MIRE), the Ministry of Environment (MiAmbiente) — which acts as the National Focal Point to the CBD and the Cartagena Protocol — and the Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (ARAP).
The specific regulatory functions exercised collectively through the CNB, in which SENACYT participates, include:
- Establishing and presenting to the Executive Branch national policies on GMO biosafety and incorporating them into sectoral programs, reporting periodically on progress.
- Proposing updates and improvements to the legal framework in areas within its competence.
- Recommending the institutional adjustments necessary for competent entities to adopt regulations on the introduction, use, research, handling, environmental release, commercialization, and industrial application of GMOs, as well as derived raw materials and products.
- Recommending the contracting of additional studies to carry out monitoring, oversight, follow-up, and evaluation of activities authorized for the Sectoral Biosafety Committees on Environmental, Agricultural, and Health matters.
- Recommending the criteria to be observed for informing the public of the benefits and probable risks of commercially authorized GMOs.
- Promoting the systematization of relevant national and international information, as well as the establishment of a consumer information and guidance service.
- Issuing the regulations and operations manual of the National Biosafety Commission.
- Recommending to competent entities the application of corresponding sanctions.
The operational structure of the CNB comprises the Commission, a Technical Secretariat, and three Sectoral Committees: the Sectoral Committee for Agricultural Biosafety, the Sectoral Committee for Health Biosafety, and the Sectoral Committee for Environmental Biosafety. These committees are responsible for the regulation, risk analysis, monitoring, and follow-up of all research activities, confined use, laboratory testing, and environmental release of GMOs. SENACYT participates as a full member of the Sectoral Committee for Health Biosafety and the Sectoral Committee for Environmental Biosafety.
SENACYT also contributes to integrating, coordinating, and making visible among the competent national authorities Panama's compliance with the Cartagena Protocol, including participation in the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH).
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