UNEP/GEF supported Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety

Biotech Consortium India Limited (BCIL) served as the Project Coordination Unit (PCU) of the UNEP/GEF supported “Phase II Capacity Building Project on Biosafety” of the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change (MoEFCC), Government of India (GoI). The objective of project is to strengthen the biosafety management system in India in the context of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety with the focus on living modified organisms (LMOs) in agriculture. The financial support included 2.7 million dollars by UNEP/GEF and 6.0 million dollars as co-contribution by GoI.

Several activities were undertaken under four thrust areas viz. risk assessment and risk management (RARM), handling, transport, packaging and identification (HTPI), socio economic consideration and enhancing public awareness.  Activities towards regional cooperation in Asian countries were also carried out. Training programmes and workshops for multiple stakeholders were organized during the project.

Key achievements include guidelines and manuals for environmental risk assessment, confined field trials, strengthening and notification of four laboratories for detection of LMOs, resource documents on socio-economic consideration, setting up a dedicated website for GEAC and resources for information dissemination. In addition to serving as PCU, BCIL also provided support for outcomes in the area of RARM and enhancing public awareness.