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Third Meeting
of the Conference of the Parties serving as Meeting of the
Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
13-17
March 2006| Curitiba, Brazil
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Highlights
for Monday, 13 March 2006
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The third meeting
of the Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) serving
as the Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena
Protocol on Biosafety (COP/MOP-3) opened in
Curitiba, Brazil, on Monday 13 March. In the
morning, delegates heard opening
statements and the Compliance Committee's
report, and addressed organizational
issues. Two working groups convened in the
afternoon. Working Group I considered the
Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH) and detailed
requirements on documentation and identification
of living modified organisms for food, feed or
processing (Article 18.2(a)).
Working
Group II discussed, inter alia, capacity
building and evaluation of the effectiveness of
the Protocol.
Above photo: The dais during the
opening ceremony.
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OPENING PLENARY:
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Above
photos L-R: Ahmed
Djoghlaf, CBD Executive Secretary with Janio Pohren,
President of the Brazilian Postal Service, during a launching
ceremony for stamps commemorating the COP/MOP-3 and the eighth
Conference of the Parties to the CBD (COP-8). Carlos
Alberto Richa, Mayor of Curitiba (
Brazil
), welcomed delegates to the meeting and
highlighted Curitiba's commitment to environmental issues,
explaining that over 4000 volunteers have been mobilized to
facilitate the meetings.
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Roberto
Requião, Governor of the State of
Paraná
(
Brazil
), highlighted Paraná’s environmental initiatives, including
a large-scale riverside restoration programme and strict policy
against genetically modified organisms. |
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Fatimah
Raya Nasron,
COP/MOP-3 President (Malaysia), declared the meeting officially
open, and welcomed the opportunity to resolve outstanding issues
by adopting the detailed documentation for living modified
organisms for food, feed or processing (LMO-FFPs). |
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Ahmed
Djoghlaf,
CBD Executive Secretary, recalled the history of the Protocol and invited
delegates to promote a new strategic partnership among governments, civil
society, women, local authorities, indigenous people, the scientific
community, and the private sector. |
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Elizabeth
Mrema,
on behalf of UNEP Executive Director Klaus Töpfer, noted
UNEP’s mandate to strengthen capacity building in developing
countries and countries with economies in transition, and said
country-driven capacity building is a crucial to ensure the
Protocol’s implementation. |
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Cláudio
Langone, on behalf of
Brazil
’s Minister of the Environment, Marina da Silva, said
governments are responsible for biotechnology regulation, but
also need the cooperation of other actors, including scientists,
citizens, NGOs and media. |
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Ethiopia
,
for AFRICA, stressed that another failure to reach a decision on detailed
documentation for LMO-FFPs would “condemn the Protocol to death” and
expressed trust on the willingness of the host country and others to prevent
such failure.
Above photo: Tewolde Berhan Egziabher (Ethiopia) |
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WORKING GROUP I
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BIOSAFETY
CLEARING-HOUSE: |
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Above photo: Chair
of Working Group I Birthe Ivars (Norway)
with Kirsty Galloway (CBD) |
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MEXICO
proposed including fields on the transboundary movement of
LMO-FFPs in the BCH, including a reference to their unique
identifier, and information on their commercial use and sale.
Above photo: Marco Antonio Meraz (Mexico) |
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Nigeria, for
AFRICA, highlighted constraints regarding infrastructure, data
collection and human resources.
Above
photo: Ositadinma Anaedu (Nigeria) |
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WORKING GROUP II
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CAPACITY
BUILDING
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CONTACT
GROUP:
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Above photos L-R:
Contact group chairs François Pythoud (Switzerland) and Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado
(Brazil); view of the contact group in session.
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ENB SNAPSHOTS:
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Above photos: UNU-IAS
held a side event as part of a consultation on its "Assessment
of Ongoing Efforts to Build Capacity for Biosafety and
Biotechnology". More than fifty participants from governments,
donors and international organizations attended the meeting.
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