Biosafety mainstreaming refers to the integration of biosafety concerns into cross-sectoral and sectoral legislation, policies and institutional frameworks, taking into account national circumstances and priorities. For example, biosafety concerns can be addressed in
national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs), national development plans and national legislation related to environment and agriculture.
Mainstreaming biosafety contributes to the synergetic and coordinated implementation of the Cartagena Protocol, the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress and the Convention on Biological Diversity and facilitates the establishment and development of effective biosafety systems at the national level. Building on ongoing efforts and making use of existing structures, mainstreaming biosafety supports resource-efficient implementation.
In addition to contributing to efficiency savings, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol recognized that mainstreaming biosafety could also contribute to mobilizing additional financial resources for the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol. In this context, it urged Parties and invited other Governments to mainstream biosafety into their national biodiversity strategies and action plans and national developments plans and programmes, as appropriate (
decision BS-VII/5).
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