Tentative calendar of activities related to synthetic biology

Activities	Main Actors	Timeframe	Status
Notification inviting the submission of information on synthetic biology (SCBD/BS/CG/MPM/DA/84279)	Secretariat	6 February 2015	Concluded
Setting up the online nomination system for participants in the online forum whereby the nominees are identified according to the type of nomination (i.e. Parties, other Governments, indigenous peoples and local communities, relevant organizations, etc)	Secretariat	1 – 28 February 2015	Concluded
Notification inviting nominations for participants to the online forum, from among which the members of the AHTEG will be selected (SCBD/BS/CG/MPM/DA/84355)	Secretariat	28 February 2015	Concluded
Submission of information on synthetic biology	Parties, other Governments, indigenous peoples and local communities, relevant stakeholders	1 February – 30 April 2015	Concluded
Nomination of participants to the online forum, from among which the members of the AHTEG will be selected	Parties, other Governments, indigenous peoples and local communities, relevant stakeholders	1 March 2015 – ongoing	Ongoing
Online discussion on: Topic 1: “How to address the relationship between synthetic biology and biological diversity” Topic 2: “Similarities and differences between living modified organisms (as defined in the Cartagena Protocol) and organisms, components and products of synthetic biology techniques” Topic 3: “Operational definition of synthetic biology, comprising inclusion and exclusion criteria;	Online forum	27 April – 11 May 2015	Concluded
Online discussion on: Topic 4: “Potential benefits and risks of organisms, components and products arising from synthetic biology techniques to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and related human health and socioeconomic impacts relevant to the mandate of the Convention and its Protocols” Topic 5: “Best practices on risk assessment and monitoring regimes currently used by Parties to the Convention and other Governments”	Online forum	25 May – 8 June 2015	Concluded
Online discussion on: Topic 6: “Adequacy of existing national, regional and/or international instruments to regulate the organisms, components or products derived from synthetic biology techniques” Topic 7: “Degree to which the existing arrangements constitute a comprehensive framework in order to address impacts of organisms, components and products resulting from synthetic biology, in particular threats of significant reduction or loss of biological diversity”	Online forum	22 June – 6 July 2015	Concluded
Selection of AHTEG members from among those participating in the online forum	Secretariat	July 2015	Concluded
Consultation with the SBSTTA Bureau on the recommended AHTEG members	SBSTTA Bureau	July 2015	Concluded
Drafting and publishing background documents for the AHTEG meeting	Secretariat	July – August 2015	Concluded
Face-to-face meeting of the AHTEG (Go to meeting website)	AHTEG	21 - 25 September 2015	Concluded
Notification inviting Parties, other Governments, indigenous and local communities, and other relevant stakeholders to peer-review of the outcomes of the process	Secretariat	October 2015	Concluded
Submission of peer-review comments on the outcomes of the process	Parties, other Governments, indigenous peoples and local communities, relevant stakeholders	November 2015 – January 2016	Concluded
Synthesis of comments received through the peer-review process	Secretariat	January – February 2016	Concluded
Twentieth meeting of the SBSTTA (Montreal, Canada)	SBSTTA	25 April – 7 May 2016	Concluded
Thirteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the CBD (Cancun, Mexico)	COP	4 – 17 December 2016	Concluded

If you have any questions, please contact the CBD Secretariat at synbio@cbd.int.
Go to the top of the page