The 117 countries resolved to comply with the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress on the concluding day of the Meeting of Parties (COP MOP 6) in Hyderabad on Friday.
The conference concluded with the countries agreeing upon the agenda including compliance to the protocol and identification and transboundary movement of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) as well as its risk assessment and management.
The countries party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety decided upon 18 items.
The agenda on unintentional trans-boundary movement of LMOs generated much discussion and led to the addition of a clause on risk assessment of LMOs, which was termed non-prescriptive and absolved the parties from any binding obligations.
“The negotiations were smooth among parties. The notable decisions include the decision on socio-economic considerat ions whereas there has been a constructive refinement on the issue of risk assessment. During our discussions, the side event highlighted the willingness of various parties to work out the ratification of the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur protocol on Liability and Redress,” said M. F Farooqui, additional secretary to the Ministry of Environment and Forest s (MoEF).
The debate on socio-economic impact of introducing LMOs facilitated the formation of an ad-hoc technical expert group. The group will comprise of eight representatives from five regions. “The group is expected to complete its report by the next Conference of Parties two years later. This is an important issue for many countries including India as biodiversity is closely linked to livelihood,” said M. F Farooqui.