Coordination meetings and workshops

The coordination meetings and workshops provide a forum through which individuals from Government agencies, relevant organizations and donors involved in implementing and/or funding biosafety capacity-building activities meet, interact and share information and experiences. The meetings also provide a mechanism for participants to discuss and develop a common understanding on key capacity-building issues and priority needs. They also provide an opportunity to review and consider ways of addressing the gaps or overlaps between existing activities. Furthermore, the meetings facilitate the exchange of views and ideas aimed at improving the planning and delivery of capacity-building assistance to countries.

The following coordination meetings have been organised so far:

• A Coordination meeting for representatives of academic and other institutions actively involved in biosafety education and training programmes in biosafety was held 4 - 6 October 2004 in Geneva, Switzerland. It was organized by the Swiss Agency for Environment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL) in collaboration with the CBD Secretariat, the UNEP/GEF Biosafety Unit and the Geneva Environment Network. Thirty-seven participants from 28 academic and other institutions attended the meeting. Click on the following link to access the Report of the meeting.
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• The First coordination meeting for governments and organizations implementing or funding biosafety capacity-building activities was held 26-27 January 2005 in Montreal, Canada. Thirty-three participants attended the meeting. Click on the following link to access the Report of the meeting.
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• The Second coordination meeting for governments and organizations implementing or funding biosafety capacity-building activities was held 18-20 January 2006 in Tromso, Norway. It was sponsored and hosted by the Government of Norway. Thirty-nine participants attended the meeting. One of the main outcomes of the meeting was the development of an interim guiding framework for promoting synergies and complementarities between biosafety capacity-building initiatives at the country level. The meeting also heard Case study presentations on key experiences, best practices and lessons learned from six biosafety projects. Click on the following link to access the Report of the meeting.
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• The Third coordination meeting for governments and organizations implementing or funding biosafety capacity-building activities was held 26 to 28 February 2007 in Lusaka. It was hosted by the Government of Zambia through the National Institute for Scientific and Industrial Research (NISIR). The Government of Germany provided financial support for participants from developing countries and countries with economies in transition. Forty three participants attended. The main outcome was the development of a draft guidance on promoting regional and subregional initiatives and approaches to capacity-building in biosafety. Participants also shared experiences in, and discussed capacity-building needs for, the implementation of the LMO identification and documentation requirements under Article 18.2 of the Protocol. It was recommended that stocktaking exercises and case studies on national experiences should be undertaken and the results shared. Four Case study presentations were made at the meeting. Click on the following link to access the Report of the meeting.
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• The Second international meeting of academic institutions and organizations involved in biosafety education and training was held 16-18 April 2007 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It was attended by a total of 63 participants from 56 institutions. A number of recommendations were made regarding actions and mechanisms for developing and/or expanding biosafety academic programmes. Participants agreed to initiate, at the regional level, networks of academic institutions involved in biosafety education and training. They recommended that each region (i.e. Africa, Asia-Pacific, CEE, GRULAC and WEOG) should collect and share information on existing biosafety-related academic programmes. This information should also be made available to the Secretariat and to the National Focal Points. It was also recommended that regional consultative meetings should be organized to discuss options for developing academic programmes in biosafety and possible institutional arrangements for the biosafety academic networks. Click on the following link to access the Report of the meeting.
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• The Fourth coordination meeting for governments and organizations implementing or funding biosafety capacity-building activities was held 11 - 13 February 2008 in New Delhi, India. It was hosted by the Government of India through the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB). The Government of Norway and the ICGEB provided financial support for the participation of developing countries and countries with economies in transition. A total of 39 participants from 18 countries and 11 organizations attended. The meeting, among other things, made recommendations regarding measures for improving capacity-building for addressing:
  1. socio-economic considerations in decision-making regarding LMOs; and
  2. implementation of identification and documentation requirements under Article 18, paragraph 2, of the Protocol.
  Click on the following link to access the Report of the meeting.
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• The Fifth coordination meeting for governments and organizations implementing and/or funding biosafety capacity-building activities was held 9 - 11 March 2009 in San Jose, Costa Rica. It was hosted by the Government of Costa Rica and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). A total of 47 participants from 22 governments and 15 organizations attended. The meeting adopted a set of action points for building and/or strengthening capacities in environmental risk assessment and post-release monitoring of living modified organisms (LMOs) and in integration of biosafety into national development plans. The meeting also approved two sets of guidelines, the “Interim Guiding Framework for Promoting Synergies and Complementarities Between Biosafety Capacity-Building Initiatives at the Country Level” and the “Draft Guidance on Promoting Regional and Subregional Initiatives and Approaches to Capacity-Building in Biosafety”. Click on the following link to access the Report of the meeting.
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• The Sixth coordination meeting for governments and organizations implementing and/or funding biosafety capacity-building activities was held 1-3 February 2010 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was hosted by the Government of Cambodia, through the Ministry of Environment. The Government of Norway provided financial support for participants from developing countries and countries with economies in transition. A total of 35 participants from 17 governments and 10 organizations attended. The meeting, among other things, made recommendations to COP-MOP regarding enhancing cooperation in identifying capacity-building needs among Parties for research and information exchange on socio-economic considerations and facilitating further consideration of Article 26 of the Protocol. A number of recommendations were also made with respect to capacity-building for promoting public awareness, education and participation, including specific proposals for inclusion in the draft programme of work on public awareness, education and participation concerning the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms. The meeting also reviewed and provided comments on the draft strategic plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2011-2020). Click on the following link to access the Report of the meeting.
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• The Seventh coordination meeting for governments and organizations implementing and/or funding biosafety capacity-building activities was held 4-6 April 2011 in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova. A total number of 30 participants from 16 Governments and 9 organizations attended. The meeting discussed possible measures and actions that may be taken to foster capacity-building for enforcement of national biosafety regulatory frameworks and for implementation of the Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress. For details check the Report of the meeting.
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• The Eighth coordination meeting for governments and organizations implementing and/or funding biosafety capacity-building activities took place from 12 to 14 March 2012 in Prague, Czech Republic. A total of 30 participants from 17 Governments and 11 organizations attended. The discussions focused on: (i) capacity-building for preventing, detecting, and managing illegal transboundary movements of LMOs; and (ii) capacity-building needs and initiatives for post-release monitoring of LMOs. For details check the Report of the meeting.

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