Online Forum

List of discussion themes and questions

Round 1
21 March-3 April
2011

Theme 1: Socio-economic considerations in the context of Article 26 of the Biosafety Protocol

What are the socio-economic considerations that Parties may take into account in the context of Article 26 of the Biosafety Protocol?

Theme 2: Socio-economic considerations and other international obligations

What other international obligations may Parties need to follow when taking socio-economic considerations into account in their decision-making on living modified organisms?

Round 2
4-17 April 2011

Theme 3: Experiences and lessons learned from taking socio-economic considerations into account in decision-making on LMOs

What methods have been used to assess the possible socio-economic impacts of living modified organisms?

What experience has been gained to date with methods for assessing socio-economic impacts?

How have socio-economic assessments been integrated into the decision-making process and what lessons have been learned?

Round 3
18 April-1 May 2011

Theme 4: Capacity-building for assessing possible socio-economic impacts and evaluating assessments

What are the main capacity-building needs of countries regarding the assessment of socio-economic considerations?

What are the main capacity-building needs regarding the evaluation of assessments and their integration into a decision on the import of an LMO?

How might these needs be addressed, taking into account the overall capacity-building framework for biosafety?

Theme 5: Target groups for capacity-building on socio-economic considerations

Which should be the main target groups for capacity-building on socio-economic considerations (e.g. policy-makers, decision-makers, regulators, technical personnel such as risk or impact assessors, other professionals, interest groups, etc.)?

Theme 6: Capacity-building initiatives related to socio-economic considerations

What capacity-building initiatives relating to socio-economic considerations in the context of the Biosafety Protocol, living modified organisms or beyond have been undertaken or are currently being implemented?

Round 4
2-8 May 2011

Theme 7: Open forum for other issues and questions

What other relevant issues should be discussed in the online regional conferences and the workshop that are to be held in accordance with decision BS-V/3?