What has been done on the financial mechanism
COP Guidance to the Financial Mechanism related to Biosafety
At its
tenth meeting, COP-MOP, in
decision CP-10/6, recommended that the COP, in adopting its guidance to the Global Environment Facility with respect to support for the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol, invite the Global Environment Facility: (a) To strengthen its funding programme dedicated to the Cartagena Protocol to support eligible Parties in implementing the Protocol and its implementation plan and capacity-building action plan; (b) To improve and simplify the modalities for access to its funding for the Cartagena Protocol, to support eligible Parties in the implementation of the Protocol, its implementation plan and the capacity-building action plan; (c) To continue to make funds available in a timely manner to support eligible Parties in preparing and submitting their fifth national reports; (d) To continue to assist eligible Parties in undertaking activities in the following areas: development and implementation of legal, administrative and other measures to implement the Protocol; risk assessment and risk management; detection and identification of living modified organisms; public awareness, education and participation; socioeconomic considerations; liability and redress; national reporting; information sharing and the Biosafety Clearing-House; and knowledge and technology transfer;and the implementation of compliance action plans regarding the achievement of compliance with the Protocol. The COP-MOP also invited the Global Environment Facility Council to examine the possibility to create a finance window specifically for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. COP-MOP 10 urged Parties to the Convention that are also Parties to the Cartagena Protocol to include biosafety projects in their utilization of the funding allocated to them under the System for Transparent Allocation of Resources for the eighth replenishment period of the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund, taking into account their obligations under the Cartagena Protocol, the post-2020 implementation plan and capacity-building action plan for the Cartagena Protocol, and the guidance of the Conference of the Parties to the Global Environment Facility. The COP-MOP also encouraged Parties to include needs and provisions for the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol in their national biodiversity finance plans and in their national implementation of the resource mobilization strategy for the post-2020 period.
At its
ninth meeting, COP-MOP, in
decision CP-9/4, recommended that the COP, in adopting its guidance to the financial mechanism with respect to support for the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol, invite the Global Environment Facility to continue making funds available: (a) to assist eligible Parties in putting in place measures to implement the Protocol; (b) to support Parties in fulfilling their reporting obligations under the Protocol, including the submission of fourth national reports; and (c) to support Parties in implementing compliance action plans regarding the achievement of compliance with the Protocol. The COP-MOP also urged Parties to prioritize biosafety projects during the programming of their national allocations under the System for transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR) within the framework of the seventh replenishment period of the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund.
At its
eighth meeting, COP-MOP, in
decision CP-VIII/5, recommended to the COP that it include the following elements in the four-year (2018-2022) outcome-oriented framework of programme priorities for the seventh replenishment of the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund: (a) the number of ratifications of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya–Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress is increased; (b) national implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya–Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress is enhanced; (c) Parties meet their reporting obligations under the Protocol through submission of national reports and relevant information through the Biosafety Clearing-house. The COP-MOP also recommended that the COP give full consideration to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in the terms of reference to be adopted for the fifth review of the effectiveness of the financial mechanism under the Convention. Finally, the COP-MOP also recommended to the COP that it invite the Global Environment Facility to continue to make specific funding available to eligible Parties to put in place their national biosafety frameworks; to continue to fund projects and capacity-building activities on issues identified by Parties to facilitate implementation of the Protocol; and to ensure that the policy, strategy, programme priorities and eligibility criteria adopted in annex I to decision I/2 of the COP are followed in an efficient manner in relation to access and utilization of financial resources.
The above recommendations by COP-MOP were subsequently adopted by COP in
decision XIII/21.
At its
seventh meeting, the COP-MOP, in
decision BS-VII/5, urged eligible Parties to prioritize biosafety projects during the programming of their GEF-6 national allocations under the STAR, taking into account their obligations under the Cartagena Protocol and the Strategic Plan for the Cartagena Protocol. It also encouraged Parties to explore the possibility of incorporating biosafety activities into multi-focal-area projects, including the proposed "integrated approach pilots", as well as projects to be developed under the other biodiversity focal area programmes. The COP-MOP also urged Parties and invited other Governments to integrate and prioritize biosafety within their national biodiversity strategies and action plans and national development plans and programmes. The Secretariat was also requested to mobilizing additional financial resources, among other things, to mainstream biosafety into the national development plans, establish strong outreach programmes and identify "biosafety champions" to promote awareness and greater understanding of biotechnology and its regulation among the public and parliamentarians. It also made a recommendation to the COP and invited the GEF to fund in particular those that have reported to the Compliance Committee difficulties in complying with the Protocol, among other things, preparation of the third national reports under the Cartagena Protocol, in accordance with
paragraph 2 (g) of decision BS-VI/5.
At its
sixth meeting, the COP-MOP, urged Parties to give priority to national biosafety plans and projects to ensure support for the Protocol under the GEF’s System for Transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR). In its
decision BS-VI/5, it also made a number of recommendations to the COP, requesting it to, among other things, support regional and multi-country thematic capacity-building projects for biosafety using Focal Area Set-aside resources under the biodiversity focal area, outside national STAR allocations and fund preparation of the third national reports. The COP-MOP also urged Parties and invited other Governments to mobilize additional financial resources as part of the framework of the Strategy for Resource Mobilization to support the Convention on Biological Diversity. These measures include, among other things, to mobilize funds from Parties and other Governments, regional and international donor agencies, foundations, the private-sector and with various organizations, regional bodies or centres of excellence.
At its
fifth meeting, the COP-MOP welcomed the fifth replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund and noted the measures undertaken by the GEF to further streamline the project cycle. In its
decision BS-V/5 the COP-MOP urged Parties to give priority to biosafety when applying for GEF funding under the biodiversity focal area. It also made a recommendation to the COP requesting its in its further guidance to urge the GEF, inter alia, to: consider defining specific quotas for biosafety for each country within its System for Transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR), fund preparation of the second national reports, support to all eligible Parties to participate in the BCH project and to ensure that identification requirements of paragraph 2 (a) of Article 18 and the programme of work on public awareness, education and participation are taken into account in GEF funded activities. The Secretariat was also requested to further explore means for mobilizing additional financial resources for implementation of the Protocol and report back to COP-MOP 6. The recommendation was subsequently communicated to the GEF in
Decision X/25, paragraph 20.
At its
fourth meeting, the COP-MOP in its
decision BS-IV/5, made a recommendation to the COP (which was subsequently adopted in
Decision IX/30 ) requesting the GEF, among other things, to extend the UNEP-GEF Biosafety Clearing-House project and to make financial resources available to eligible parties to prepare their national reports, build capacities in the area of sampling and detection of LMOs and to enable their universities to develop and/or expand biosafety academic programmes. The GEF was also requested to consider, during its fifth replenishment period (2010-2014), the biosafety priority needs specified in the decision.
At its
third meeting, the COP-MOP in
decision BS-III/5, urged the GEF to expeditiously finalize, approve and implement the biosafety strategy. It also made a number of recommendations to the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention regarding further guidance to the GEF with respect to biosafety, which were subsequently communicated to the GEF in
Decision IX/31, section C, paragraph 5.
Following the recommendation from the first meeting of the COP-MOP, the Conference of the Parties in its
decision VII/20, paragraphs 20-26, provided detailed guidance to the GEF with regard to the Cartagena Protocol, including the eligibility criteria, strategy and programme priorities. Links to other relevant decisions of COP regarding guidance to the financial mechanism related to biosafety are provided below.
In its
decision BS-II/5, COP-MOP encouraged the Global Environment Facility and the Executive Secretary of the Convention to continue their strong collaboration in advancing support to the implementation of the Protocol.
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GEF Supported Projects on Biosafety
Following the adoption of the Protocol in 2000, the GEF Council approved in November 2000 an
Initial strategy for assisting countries to prepare for the entry into force of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety together with a global
UNEP-GEF project to assist all eligible countries to develop national biosafety frameworks (NBFs). The project was launched in June 2001, and has assisted
123 countries. Under the initial strategy, the GEF also provided support to 12
Demonstration projects for capacity-building in implementation of national biosafety frameworks (NBFs).
In November 2003, the GEF approved an add-on project to the UNEP-GEF project on the Development of NBFs entitled
Building Capacity for Effective Participation in the Biosafety Clearing House (BCH) of the Cartagena Protocol.
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