The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has released the report of the Ad hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Risk Assessment and Risk Management under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
Among other recommendations, the group recommends that the seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (COP-MOP 7) endorse the Guidance on Risk Assessment of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs).
July 2014: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has released the report of the Ad hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Risk Assessment and Risk Management under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. Among other recommendations, the group recommends that the seventh Meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (COP-MOP 7) endorse the Guidance on Risk Assessment of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs).
The AHTEG considered: results from testing the Guidance; aligning the Guidance with a training manual on risk assessment of LMOs; how to develop further guidance on specific topics of risk assessment; and developing a process for updating the Guidance.
The AHTEG recommends, inter alia, that COP-MOP 7: endorse the Guidance and support its application and use for risk assessment and capacity building; formulate questions regarding its integration in the Third National Report on implementation of the Protocol; and establish a mechanism for updating the guidance, and considering an updated version at COP-MOP 9, including a mechanism for future updates.
The AHTEG also recommends that further guidance on specific aspects of risk assessment be developed through the AHTEG and the Online Forum on Risk Assessment on the following issues: risk assessment of LMOs in centers of origin and genetic diversity; risk assessment of living modified microorganisms and viruses; and risk assessment of living modified fish.
The meeting of AHTEG was held 2-6 June 2014 in Bonn, Germany. [Publication: Report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Risk Assessment and Risk Management Under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety]