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Countdown begins for International Treaty on GMO trade

Jamaica is among 103 countries preparing for when the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety comes into effect on September 11 of this year. This Protocol which focuses on the international trade of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) represents the first regulatory, international initiative in the safe handling, transport and use of GMOs which are derived from modern biotechnology.

Jamaica became a signatory to the Cartagena Protocol on 4 June 2001 and has indicated its general support for the objectives and stipulations of the Protocol. Although Jamaica has not yet ratified the Protocol, the country intends to subject its import and export of GMOs to the provisions of the agreement.

Presently Jamaica is developing its National Biosafety Framework through a project which began in November 2002 and is jointly funded by the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). GOJ recently approved an additional J$ 3 million for the project. The National Biosafety Framework is anticipated to detail legislation, regulatory and administrative systems as well as decision-making systems for the monitoring of its GMO trade and application.

The long anticipated 50th ratification triggering the 90-day countdown to the Protocol’s entry into force was deposited Friday June 13 by the North Pacific nation of Palau. In celebrating news of this event, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), Hamdallah Zedan views the Protocol, which CBD member countries adopted in January 2000, as a vital tool for sustainable development and the protection of biodiversity.

“This treaty will enable countries to derive maximum benefit from biotechnology while ensuring adequate safety measures for the environment, also taking into account human health,” Zedan said.

GMOs are anticipated to present a number of benefits such as increased crop yields and soil conservation. Biosafety is concerned with the need to protect the environment and human health from the possible adverse effects of GMO application.

The Cartagena Protocol prescribes procedures for GMOs that are to be intentionally introduced into the environment and those that are intended for food, feed or processing. Its objective is that importing countries are provided with the necessary information for informed decision-making for their acceptance or rejection of GMOs as part of its ‘Advance Informed Agreement’ procedure.

Countries will exchange information through an Internet-based mechanism called the Biosafety-Clearing House. GMO shipments will be clearly identified with documentation outlining the specific identity and characteristics of each GMO being exported. These provisions will be effective immediately when the Cartagena Protocol enters into force.

A decision-making group of all the member countries of the Protocol will convene at the Meeting of the Parties in the first quarter of 2004 to address practical aspects of its implementation. Mr. Zedan warns that countries that have not yet ratified the agreement, such as Jamaica, will be unable ‘‘to participate as full partners’’ in this first meeting which he says ‘‘will shape the future of the Protocol”.