As Focal Point to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, the Ministry of Environment is participating in a global umbrella project, funded by the GEF, to build national capacity in the use of the Biosafety Clearing House or BCH. This is the third phase of the global project, and is therefore referred to as the BCH-III project.

Biosafety is defined as “the safe handling, transport and use of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology (that may have adverse effect on biological diversity) taking also into account risks to human health” and the BCH is a global database which allows countries to share information on biosafety.

The BCH houses information on country’s laws and regulations on LMOs, contact ponits within the country, decisions about LMO import and export and even information on specific LMOs. This second workshop was aimed at technical and regulator officers involved in national biosafety and was aimed at staff from the Ministry of Agriculture, including it’s Plant Quarantine Unit and Veterinary Services Department as well as the Customs and Excise Department.

For more information on this workshop, please click below to download the workshop report that was prepared by the Biodiversity Conservation and Management Section.