The BCH Informal Advisory Committee (BCH-IAC)
Mandate of the BCH-IAC
In its Decision BS-I/3, the Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol adopted the Modalities of Operation of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH). Section 5 of the modalities of operation states: “The Secretariat may seek assistance from an informal advisory committee, constituted and coordinated by the Executive Secretary in a transparent manner, with a particular focus on providing guidance with respect to resolution of technical issues associated with the ongoing development of the Biosafety Clearing-House.”
The BCH-IAC adopted at its first meeting its Operational Procedures.
The participants to the 4th IAC meeting, held in Montreal on 17-18 November 2008, recommended to the Secretariat to establish a BCH-IAC discussion forum to maintain an open line of communication among the committee's members.
Note: Links to the documents about the preparatory work on the functioning of the Biosafety Clearing-House (2000-2003) are also available at the bottom of this page.
Go to the top of this page
|
Meetings of the BCH Informal Advisory Committee (IAC) |
- First Meeting (9-10 November 2004, Montreal, Canada)
- Second Meeting (23-24 November 2006, Geneva, Switzerland)
- Third Meeting (4-5 October 2007, Montreal, Canada)
- Fourth Meeting (17-18 November 2008, Montreal, Canada)
- Fifth Meeting (19-21 October 2009, Montreal, Canada)
- Sixth Meeting (30 March - 1 April 2011, Montreal, Canada)
- Seventh Meeting (28 March - 30 March 2012, Montreal, Canada)
- Eighth Meeting (17 April 2013, online format)
- Ninth Meeting (2 April - 4 April 2014, Ispra, Italy)
- Tenth Meeting (11 April - 12 April 2016, Ispra, Italy)
- Eleventh Meeting (1 - 4 December 2020, online)
|
Past Meetings of the BCH Informal Advisory Committee (IAC)
Eleventh Meeting of the BCH-IAC (1 - 4 December 2020, online)
The eleventh meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee was convened by the Executive Secretary to review the progress made since its tenth meeting and to seek further guidance on a number of areas including improving the functionality of the BCH Central Portal and its migration to the new platform. In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting was held online using the GoToWebinar platform. Participants discussed the following items outlined in the provisional agenda: (i) Migration of the Biosafety Clearing-House; (ii) Status of the current Biosafety Clearing-House; (iii) Collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme – Global Environment Facility BCH III capacity-building project; (iv) Post-2020 processes and its relevance to the Biosafety Clearing-House. The report of the meeting contains a number of conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Secretary for consideration in the ongoing work on the Biosafety Clearing-House.
Tenth Meeting of the BCH-IAC (11 April - 12 April 2016, Ispra, Italy)
The tenth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee was convened by the Executive Secretary to seek guidance with respect to technical issues associated with the ongoing development of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH). Participants discussed the following items outlined in the provisional agenda: (i) Review of the conclusions and recommendations emanating from the ninth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee on the Biosafety Clearing-House; (ii) Latest developments in the Biosafety Clearing-House and ongoing projects; (iii) Status update regarding collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme – Global Environment Facility Biosafety Clearing-House Capacity Building project; (iv) Status update regarding the analysis of National Reports; and (v) Cooperation with international organizations regarding the provision of information on living modified organisms. The Summary Outcomes reports conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Secretary for consideration in the implementation of the programme of work for the Biosafety Clearing-House.
Ninth Meeting of the BCH-IAC (2 April - 4 April 2014, Ispra, Italy)
The ninth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee was convened by the Executive Secretary to seek guidance with respect to technical issues associated with the ongoing development of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH). Participants discussed the following items outlined in the provisional agenda: (i) Latest developments in the Biosafety Clearing-House and ongoing projects; (ii) Review of the conclusions and recommendations of the eighth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee on the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH-IAC); (iii) Status update regarding collaboration with the UNEP-GEF Biosafety Clearing-House Capacity Building Project; and (iv) Recommendations to the seventh meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The Summary Outcomes reports conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Secretary for consideration in the implementation of the programme of work for the Biosafety Clearing-House.
Eighth Meeting of the BCH-IAC (17 April 2013, Online format) The eighth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee on the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH-IAC) consisted of discussions of issues through an online forum started on 18 March and concluded with a real-time online teleconference on 17 April 2013. The meeting was convened by the Executive Secretary to seek guidance with respect to technical issues associated with the ongoing development of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH). Participants discussed the following items outlined in the provisional agenda: (i) Developments in the Biosafety Clearing-House and ongoing projects; (ii) Outcomes of the conclusions and recommendations of the sixth and seventh meetings of the Informal Advisory Committee on the Biosafety Clearing-House; (iii) Outcomes of the BCH-IAC Survey; and (iv) Ongoing collaboration with the UNEP-GEF project for continued enhancement of building capacity for effective participation in the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH II); and (v) Requests to the Executive Secretary from the sixth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP). The Summary Outcomes reports conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Secretary for consideration in the implementation of the programme of work for the Biosafety Clearing-House.
Seventh Meeting of the BCH-IAC (28 March - 30 March 2012, Montreal, Canada) The seventh meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee was convened by the Executive Secretary to seek guidance with respect to technical issues associated with the ongoing development of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH). Participants discussed the following items outlined in the provisional agenda: (i) Developments in the Biosafety Clearing-House and ongoing projects; (ii) Outcomes of the conclusions and recommendations of the sixth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee on the Biosafety Clearing-House; (iii) Collaboration with the UNEP-GEF project for continued enhancement of building capacity for effective participation in the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH-II, 2010-2012); and (iv) Cooperation with international organizations regarding the provision of information on living modified organisms. The Summary Outcomes reports conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Secretary for consideration in the implementation of the programme of work for the Biosafety Clearing-House.
Sixth Meeting of the BCH-IAC (30 March -1 April 2011, Montreal, Canada) The sixth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee was convened by the Executive Secretary to seek guidance with respect to technical issues associated with the ongoing development of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH). Participants discussed the following items outlined in the provisional agenda: (i) Strategic plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP decision BS-V/16): its relevance to the Biosafety Clearing-House and future challenges; (ii) Latest developments in the Biosafety Clearing-House and ongoing projects; (iii) Collaboration with the UNEP-GEF BCH II Capacity Building Project; and (iv) Implementation of COP-MOP decision BS-V/2. The Summary Outcomes reports conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Secretary for consideration in the implementation of the programme of work for the Biosafety Clearing-House.
Fifth Meeting of the BCH-IAC (19-21 October 2009, Montreal, Canada) The fifth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee was convened by the Executive Secretary to seek guidance with respect to technical issues associated with the ongoing development of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH). The meeting discussed the following items outlined in the provisional agenda: (i) Current status of the BCH; (ii) Assessment of recent BCH changes; (iii) Assessment of the BCH forum, activities and tools; (iv) Assessment of national and regional nodes; (v) Pending requests from the decisions of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety; (vi) Status of the UNEP-GEF BCH project extension; (vii) Draft Strategic Plan of the Cartagena Protocol focusing on the BCH component; and (vii) Future developments and challenges. The Summary Outcomes reports conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Secretary for consideration in the implementation of the programme of work for the Biosafety Clearing-House.
Fourth Meeting of the BCH-IAC (17-18 November 2008, Montreal, Canada) The fourth meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee was convened by the Executive Secretary to seek guidance with respect to technical issues associated with the ongoing development of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH). The meeting discussed the following items outlined in the provisional agenda: (i) Introduction and overview; (ii) Review of the new Management Centre, new registration pages and common formats for off-line registration; (iii) Review of the new “Help” section in the Biosafety Clearing-House; (iv) General progress in the multi-year programme of work; (v) Pending requests from the decisions of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP); (vi) Training activities and collaboration with the UNEP-GEF Biosafety Clearing-House project; and (vii) Future developments and challenges. The Summary Outcomes reports conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Secretary for consideration in the implementation of the programme of work for the Biosafety Clearing-House.
Third Meeting of the BCH-IAC (4-5 October 2007, Montreal, Canada) The Executive Secretary convened the third meeting of the Informal Advisory Committee to review the progress of the BCH and provide further guidance on the technical issues related to the enhanced implementation of the BCH. The meeting discussed the following items outlined in the annotated agenda: (i) Introduction and overview; (ii) National implementation, and case-studies of national experiences; (iii) Overview of information sharing partnership arrangements; (iv) Progress in the multi-year programme of work; (v) Capacity-building activities and (vi) The 2007 review of the Biosafety Clearing-House. The Summary Outcomes reports conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Secretary for consideration in the implementation of the programme of work for the Biosafety Clearing-House.
Second Meeting of the BCH-IAC (23-24 November 2006, Geneva, Switzerland) In the summary of outcomes of the meeting, the Committee put forth conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Secretary regarding (i) management of information at the national level; (ii) design of the central portal; (iii) capacity-building; (iv) partnership arrangements; (v) compliance issues; (vi) interoperability mechanisms; and (vii) the multi-year programme of work.
First Meeting of the BCH-IAC (9-10 November 2004, Montreal, Canada) In the summary of outcomes of the meeting, the Committee put forth conclusions and recommendations to the Executive Secretary regarding (i) the structure and function of the central ports; (ii) information content and management; and (iii) capacity-building and non-Internet accessibility.
Go to the list of meetings
Documents about the preparatory work on the functioning of the Biosafety Clearing-House (2000-2003)
- Liaison Group of Technical Experts on the Biosafety Clearing-House
10 - 11 April 2003, Montreal, Canada - Regional Meeting on the Pilot Phase of the Biosafety Clearing-House, Asia and Pacific
4 - 8 March 2002, Beijing, China - Regional Meeting on the Pilot Phase of the Biosafety Clearing-House, Central and Eastern Europe
5 - 9 February 2002, Nitra, Slovakia - Liaison Group Meeting of Technical Experts on the Pilot Phase of the Biosafety Clearing-House
27 - 28 September 2001, Nairobi, Kenya - Regional Meeting on the Biosafety Clearing-House, Latin American and Caribbean
4 - 6 September 2001, Lima, Peru - Liaison Group Meeting of Technical Experts on the Biosafety Clearing-House
19 - 20 March 2001, Montreal, Canada - Regional Meeting on Biosafety Clearing-House and the Clearing-House Mechanism, Africa
26 - 28 February 2001, Nairobi, Kenya - Meeting of Technical Experts on the Biosafety Clearing House
11 - 13 September 2000, Montreal, Canada
Go to the top of this page
|
