DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE BIOSAFETY VIDEO LECTURES

As part of the UNEP/GEF supported Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety, implemented through Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) a series of video lectures and reading material on biosafety aspects of genetically engineered (GE) plants are being developed by Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL), the Project Coordination Unit through committed funds. BCIL in association with All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) will prepare online interactive video lectures and reading material along with assignments and quizzes for uploading on the SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) platform. This would facilitated the access of biosafety related material by anyone, anywhere and at any time.

The SWAYAM seeks to bridge the digital divide for students who have hitherto remained untouched by the digital revolution and have not been able to join the mainstream of the knowledge economy.

SHOWCASING OUTPUTS OF THE UNEP/GEF PHASE II CAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT ON BIOSAFETY AT THE COP MOP 9 AT SHARM EL SHEIKH, EGYPT

a. Side Event on Strengthening Biosafety Capacity in India: Outcomes of the UNEP-GEF Phase II Biosafety Capacity Building Project

Side events are organised on the side-lines of the COP14, COP-MOP9 and COP-MOP3 to provide an opportunity for an informal dialogue and sharing of experiences on areas related to biodiversity and biosafety.

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India, the implementing agency of the recently completed the UNEP/GEF supported Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety organized a side event on “Strengthening Biosafety Capacity in India: Outcomes of the UNEP-GEF Capacity Building Project on Biosafety”, on November 22, 2018. The project outcomes were showcased including several publications/knowledge products, outreach material etc which are of great value not just for India but other Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Besides sharing the project outcomes under the Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety, presentations on sharing the experiences on GEF projects underway in Bangladesh, Iran and Tajikistan were also made at the side event.

Dr. A.K. Mehta, Additional Secretary, MoEFCC. graced the event as the chief guest and emphasised on the importance of communication and awareness to ensure wider adoption of LMOs by countries. Dr. Sujata Arora, Adviser, MoEFCC, welcomed the participants and informed about India’s consistent efforts towards strengthening biosafety capacities for effective implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Appreciating the efforts of the Government of India for the successful completion of the Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety by Dr Alex Owusu Biney, Portfolio Manager Biosafety) also highlighted the importance of engaging inter-institutional agencies for fruitful completion of such large scale projects supported through GEF.

Dr. Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Director, Implementation and Support Division, Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), appreciated India’s efforts towards adopting the Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) guidance for genetically engineered (GE) plants and putting in place a referral network of detection laboratories for living modified organisms (LMOs) under the Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety..

L to R: Dr. B. Meenakumari, Chairperson, National Biodiversity Authority (NBA); Dr. A. K. Mehta, Additional Secretary, MoEFFCC, and Dr. Jyoti Mathur-Filipp, Director, Implementation and Support Division, SCBD. Dr. Sujata Arora, Adviser, MoEFCC

b. Poster Exhibition at the Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) Fair

A poster on "Sharing Biosafety Capacity Building Activities under the UNEP/GEF supported Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety", was exhibited by MoEFCC in association with BCIL at the CEPA fair held on the side-lines of the COP-MOP9 from November 17-29, 2018 at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The poster covered key information on project outputs with emphasis on the Guidance documents for Environmental Risk Assessment of genetically engineered (GE) plants, notification of the four detection laboratories that have been strengthened and several biosafety related knowledge products developed for creating awareness among a wide range of stakeholders. The information about the new GEAC website with online systems for processing of applications and monitoring of confined field trials of regulated GE plants was also included in the poster.

OPPORTUNITY FOR PARTICIPATION IN UN BIODIVERSITY CONFERENCE, 2018

The fourteenth meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 14) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), ninth meeting of the Conference of Parties serving as the meeting of Parties (COP-MOP9) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) and the third meeting of the Conference of Parties serving as the meeting of Parties (COP-MOP3) to the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits arising from their utilization, collectively known as the UN Biodiversity Conference will be held from November 17-29, 2018 at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. These meetings are held every two years to assess and review the advances being made in implementation of the CBD and its two Protocols. The theme of the UN Biodiversity Conference, 2018 is “Investing in Biodiversity for People and Planet”. Further details may be accessed at https://www.cop14-egypt.com/.

While the main negotiations are attended by the government nominees, opportunities for participation for other agencies and organizations is through organizing side events and participation in the Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEAP) Fair, held on the sidelines. The CEAP fair helps encourage participation by agencies and organizations from countries that are Party to the CBD and its two Protocols viz., CPB and Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing showcasing their work and best practices adopted.

The registration for participation in the CEPA Fair for the poster display and side events is now open with the last date being September 15, 2018. Further details may be accessed at https://www.cbd.int/side-events/

RELEASE OF BIOSAFETY PUBLICATIONS ON INTERNATIONAL BIODIVERSITY DAY

At the national level celebrations of the International Biodiversity Day (IBD) organised on May 22nd, 2018 at Hyderabad several publications related to the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity and its two protocols viz. Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing and were released along with the following biosafety related publications:

1. Implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: Sharing India’s Experience that presents information contained in India’s national reports submitted to CPB in a narrative format for enhancing public awareness about these issues and international commitments.

2. Biosafety Resource Kit: Updated 2018 that contains an updated version of the five brochures of the kit including the frequently asked questions, confined field trials, regulatory framework in India, Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and useful information/databases on safety assessment

3. Biosafety Capacity Building Workshops at State Agriculture Universities: An initiative for sharing information and enhancing public awareness that contains information about the key features and outcomes of the fifteen workshops held at the State Agriculture Universities in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orrisa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

The IBD is celebrated annually on May 22^nd. The theme of the IBD, 2018 was “Celebrating 25 years of action on biodiversity” to mark the 25th year of the CBD coming into force. The celebrations at Hyderabad were organized by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Government of India and National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) in association with UNDP and Telangana State Biodiversity Board.

TRAINING WORKSHOPS ON STRENGTHENING ENFORCEMENT CAPACITIES FOR TRANSBOUNDARY MOVEMENT OF LIVING MODIFIED ORGANISMS

In continuation to the various training workshops for strengthening enforcement capacities for transboundary movement of living modified organisms (LMOs), undertaken as part of the UNEP/GEF supported Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety, two additional training workshops have been organized at Goa on April 12-13, 2018 and Visakhapatnam on April 19-20, 2018. These workshops have been organized jointly by Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in association with National Academy of Customs, Excise & Narcotics (NACEN), Mumbai and Customs House at Goa and National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes & Narcotics (NACIN) at Visakhapatnam. More than 50 officials including officials from customs and plant quarantine departments attended the two day workshops. Besides updating the participants about the relevant information regarding biosafety regulations with regards to the transboundary movement of LMOs, a live demonstration for detection of LMOs using lateral flow strip technique was also given to the participants.

STATE LEVEL BIOSAFETY CAPACITY BUILDING WORKSHOPS

A series of fifteen “State Level Biosafety Capacity Building Workshops” are being organized in the State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), under the UNEP/GEF supported Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety, being implemented by Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India. The workshops are aimed towards dissemination of various project outcomes and knowledge products developed under the Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety for sharing of information. Some of the publications have also been translated into regional languages including Hindi, Punjabi, Telugu, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali and Gujarati and are now being distributed at the respective state level workshops. The workshops are targeted specifically for the scientists from research institutions and universities in the state, agriculture department officials, agricultural research stations, industry and progressive farmers. These workshops are being coordinated by Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL), the Project Coordination Unit of the Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety.

NAGOYA-KUALA LUMPUR SUPPLEMENTARY PROTOCOL ON LIABILITY AND REDRESS (NKLSP) TO THE CPB ENTERS INTO FORCE

The Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress (NKLSP) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, entered into force on March 5, 2018 with the ratification of forty one Parties. The entry into force of the NKLSP represents as major step towards achieving the objectives of the Strategic plan of the CPB for the period 2011-2020. It is a major milestone in the 25 years of the Convention on Biological Diversity and 15 years of the CPB.

The Supplementary Protocol aims to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity by providing international rules and procedures in the field of liability and redress relating to living modified organisms (LMOs). In the event of damage resulting from LMOs or where there is sufficient likelihood that damage will result, timely response measures need to be taken as per the NKLSP.

Towards enabling Parties in carrying out national activities towards ratification and implementation of the NKLSP at national level, CBD secretariat has developed resources including capacity building activities, exercises, e-learning modules etc in their efforts. Additional resources are also being developed and would be made available at the CBD website shortly.

Further details about the resources can be accessed at : https://bch.cbd.int/protocol/supplementary/NKL_workshops.shtml#tab=1

E-LEARNING MODULE ON THE SUPPLEMENTARY PROTOCOL

In view of the entry into force of the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress (NKLSP), an E-learning module has been developed to provide information on liability and redress and also on the objective and core obligations of the Supplementary Protocol. The development of the module was supported by the Government of Japan, through the Japan Biodiversity Fund.

The module contains examples of national legislation through which Parties can implement the Supplementary Protocol. It is available in three languages i.e English, French and Spanish and is hosted on the CBD E-learning platform at https://scbd.unssc.org/course/index.php?categoryid=3

PARTICIPATION AT COP-MOP8

The Indian delegation led by Dr Amita Prasad, Additional Secretary, MoEF&CC and Chairperson, GEAC actively participated in the deliberations of the eighth meeting of the conference of Parties serving as meeting of Parties (COP-MOP 8) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) from December 4-17, 2016 at Cancun, Mexico.

The meeting addressed several issues including the guidance document on risk assessment and risk management, a coordinated approach on the issue of synthetic biology and socio-economic considerations among other items. A total of 19 decisions have been adopted by the COP-MOP8.

The COP-MOP 8 was held in conjunction with the thirteenth meeting of the COP to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the second meeting of the COP MOP to the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing. More than 8,000 delegates from more than 180 countries participated in the concurrent meetings of the Convention and its Protocols, representing parties and other governments, UN agencies, intergovernmental, non-governmental, indigenous and local community organizations, academia and the private sector.

Further details on the issues and decisions adopted at the three concurrent meetings, please visit http://www.cbd.int

COMMUNICATION, EDUCATION AND PUBLIC AWARENESS (CEPA) FAIR AT THE COP13-MOP8

In view of encouraging countries that are Party to Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and its two Protocols viz., Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) and the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing for sharing their experiences towards implementation, a Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA) fair is held parallel to the meetings of the governing body of the CBD and its Protocols. The fair features an exhibition of outreach materials and a thematic side event.

The project outcomes of the UNEP/GEF supported Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety were showcased at the CEPA Fair held parallel to the COP13, COP-MOP8 and COP-MOP2 from December 4-17, 2016 at Cancun, Mexico. Shri Gyanesh Bharti, Joint Secretary, MoEF&CC and the National Project Coordinator, Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety also made a presentation on “Enhancing Public Awareness and Public Participation on Biosafety Issues in India”, at the CEPA Fair which was in line with the theme of COP-MOP8 on “Best Practices and Experiences in implementing Article 23 on Public Awareness and Participation of the CPB”.