Rachel. Queensland Museum

Transcription

1 Queensland Museum Rachel Overview of the Status of Implementation of Article 23 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, including the Programme of Work on Public Awareness, Education and Participation Regarding LMOs Erie Tamale and Ulrika Nilsson CBD Secretariat

2 Outline Part I: Background to the Protocol Part II: Article 23 and related COP- MOP Decisions Part III: Programme of Work on PEAP Part IV: Secretariat s support activities Part V: Way Forward

3 Background CPB negotiated under auspices of the Convention on Biological Diversity Adopted 29 January 2000 by CBD Ex-COP Entered into force: 11 September 2003; celebrated 10 th anniversary last month 166 ratifications/accessions 6 governing body meetings (COP-MOP); next meeting (Oct. 2014, Pyeongchang, Korea) Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress adopted 15 October 2010

4 Protocol s Objective To contribute to ensuring the safe transfer, handling and use of LMOs resulting from modern biotechnology Access to genetic that resources may have adverse effects on the biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health *In accordance with the precautionary approach

5 Article 23 of the CPB Article 23 mix of mandatory and discretionary actions: Mandatory Promote/facilitate PAEP regarding the safe transfer, handling and use of LMOs; Cooperate in doing so Consult the public in decision-making processes regarding LMOs; make public the decisions taken Discretionary actions Endeavour to ensure that PAE encompass access to information on LMOs imported Endeavour to inform the public about the means of public access to the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH)

6 COP-MOP Decisions Art. 23 COP-MOP 2: ES - intensify cooperation with the Aarhus Convention and share info./experiences through BCH COP-MOP 5: Adopted a programme of work on PAEP ( ) Urged Parties to ensure coherence with the Aarhus Convention Adopted a Strategic Plan for the Protocol ( ), incl. operational objectives on capacity-building and PAEP

7 PoW on PAEP ( ) Programme Elements: 1. Capacity-building 2. Public awareness and education 3. Public access to information 4. Public participation Each programme element includes: Operational Objectives Expected Outcomes; Indicators Suggested Activities Time Frame Actors

8 PoW-PAEP: Element 1- Capacity Building and Element 2 Public Awareness/Education Capacity-building Legal/policy frameworks and mechanisms on PAEP Institutional mechanisms (e.g. Advisory committees, information centres and collaboration with Aarhus Convention) Collaboration/sharing of experience and resources Public awareness/education Promote public awareness and education (e.g. Baseline awareness surveys, public announcements and use of media)

9 PoW-Element 3 Access to information Popularise right of access to information Popularise means of access Establish infrastructure for access (e.g. websites, BCH nodes) Information alert systems Establish procedures for access to information

10 PoW-Element 4 Public participation Establish PP frameworks and SOPs Administrative mechanisms/systems for PP Public notification of PP opportunities Platforms for public feedback, comments Availing resources to facilitate PP Popularise right to PP in d/making

11 CPB Strategic Plan Elements on PAEP ( ) OP 2.5 (Enhance capacity for PAEP) Access to guidance/training materials on PEAP Training in PAEP skills Mechanisms for ensuring PP in decision-making Informing the public on modalities for participation OP 5.3 (outreach and cooperation) Biosafety websites, searchable databases or resource centers Increased understanding of the relationship between the Protocol and other biosafety-related agreements

12 Framework/Action Plan on Capacitybuilding on PAEP Focal Area 5: PAEP Enhance capacity at the national, regional and international levels for PAEP Outcome: Access to guidance/training materials on PEAP

13 Secretariat Support Activities on PAEP Biosafety awareness survey template: Online Portal on PAEP: Online Discussion Group on Access to Information: Regional Networks on PAEP: Biosafety Media network:

14 Secretariat Activities to Support the PoW Regional capacity-building workshops on PAEP: Africa (Kampala, Uganda, November 2012) and Asia (Hanoi, Vietnam, March 2013) CEE (Batumi, Georgia, December 2013) Making relevant resource materials available: Joint activities with Aarhus Convention and other partner organizations

15 Status of Implementation of Article 23 Statistics from the 2 nd National Report (2012) Q: Does your country have a strategy or legislation in place to promote public awareness Region Yes To some extent No Africa Asia-Pacific CEE GRULAC WEOG Total

16 Status of Implementation of Article 23 Statistics from the 2 nd National Report (2012) Q: Does your country have mechanisms in place to consult the public in decision-making processes on LMOs Region Yes To some extent No Africa Asia-Pacific CEE GRULAC WEOG Total

17 Status of Implementation of Article 23 Statistics from the 2 nd National Report (2012) Q: Does your country have mechanisms in place to ensure public access to information on LMOs Region Yes To some extent No Africa Asia-Pacific CEE GRULAC WEOG Total

18 Status of Implementation of Article 23 Statistics from the 2 nd National Report (2012) Other statistics: Number of Parties with national websites and searchable archives = 82 (58%) Number of national awareness and outreach programmes on biosafety = 165 (BCH records) Number of awareness and educational materials on biosafety and the Protocol available/accessible to the public = 110 records in the BCH-BIRC on thematic area: Public awareness, education and participation )

19 Main Challenges Difficulties with putting public participation provisions into practice: Complexity of the biosafety issue Lack of appropriate mechanisms for public participation Issue of language Lack of relevant expertise Lack of funding Limited access to websites by the public in some countries

20 Main Challenges Difficulties with public access to information: es No system for public access to biosafety information General access to information laws and systems exist but not used by biosafety focal points Many Parties noted that there was no real experience of implementation of public participation provisions as yet because the NBF had yet to be put into operation or they had not yet dealt with an application for transboundary movement of an LMO

21 Way Forward National Frameworks/Action Plans on PEAP (within national biosafety framework) Integrate PAEP into broader national processes, programmes and agendas, including NBSAPs, CEPA, Target 1 of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets, includ. the programme of work Regional, sub-regional and international cooperation (including through regional organizations and networks (e.g. biosafety PEAP networks/ websites, biosfety integrated into biodiversity/environmental/sustainable development agendas) Maximise existing tools to promote access to information (e.g. BCH-BIRC, PEAP portal in the BCH, etc.) Participate in the CEE Workshop on PAEP (Batumi, Georgia,16 December December 2013)

22 Concluding Remarks The Protocol establishes procedures and mechanisms for ensuring that LMOs do not adversely affect biological diversity and human health Article 23, including access to information and public participation, critical to the successful implementation of the Protocol and the Aarhus Convention The Aarhus Convention supplements, in particular the discretionary action under Article 23 The BCH is a key source of information and promoting accesss to informaiton A new phase of implementation - Strategic Plan and the Framework/Action Plan for Capacity-building

23 For Further Information Contact: Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity 413 Saint Jacques Street, Suite 800 Montreal, QC, H2Y 1N9, Canada Tel: Fax: secretariat@cbd.int Protocol: BCH: