What has been done on mainstreaming biosafety

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP), in its decision BS-V/16, adopted the Strategic Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety for the period 2011-2020 (Strategic Plan). It urged Parties to review and align, as appropriate, their national action plans and programmes relevant to the implementation of the Protocol, including their NBSAPs, with the Strategic Plan. At its seventh meeting, the COP-MOP 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, as appropriate (decision BS-VII/5).

The calls by the COP-MOP were echoed by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP). At its twelfth meeting, the COP recognized the need for integrated implementation of the Convention and its Protocols to improve efficiency and effectiveness. The Conference of the Parties encouraged Parties to integrate biosafety and access and benefit-sharing into NBSAPs, national development plans and other relevant sectoral and cross-sectoral policies, plans and programmes, and to strengthen national coordination mechanisms to facilitate a coordinated approach to the implementation of the Convention and its Protocols (decision XII/29, paragraphs 9 and 11).

At its eighth meeting, the COP-MOP requested the Executive Secretary to undertake regional and subregional workshops and other relevant activities, subject to the availability of resources, in order to enhance the capacity of Parties to promote the integration of biosafety considerations into national biodiversity strategies and action plans, national development plans and national strategies to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (decision CP-VIII/15)). The COP-MOP also requested the Executive Secretary to add questions to the format for the fourth national reports addressing mainstreaming of biosafety into national biodiversity strategies and action plans (decision CP-VIII/14).

Several activities have been carried out to assist Parties in integrating biosafety into NBSAPs and national development plans and programmes.