Economic Considerations of the Cartagena Protocol Implementation Raised at High Level Policy Dialogue
The 4th Meeting of the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB) highlighted the need for economic considerations when implementing the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. While the Protocol entered into force in September 2003, some aspects of the agreement's implementation have yet to be clarified.
Delegates to the meeting discussed the importance of intra-governmental coordination and the participation of trade representatives during the negotiations for the specific implementation modalities for the Protocol. Some delegates also urged APEC Member Economies to undertake research to analyze the costs and benefits as well as the trade implications of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
Held on March 2-3 in Seoul, Korea, the HLPDAB was opened by Korea's Vice Minister for Agriculture and Forestry, Mr. Lee Myung Soo.
The HLPDAB also discussed the need for increased government and private sector cooperation, and the role of intellectual property rights in effective technology transfer. The HLPDAB endorsed a number of public policy development activities in the APEC region. These included: additional farmer-to-farmer activities to increase awareness of the latest developments in agricultural biotechnology, continued work on activities to help economies create a positive investment environment for agricultural biotechnology, and the presentation of a Biosafety workshop to provide policy options for officials as they develop effective biosafety frameworks.
The Dialogue also provided for one day of the program being set aside for policy makers from APEC Member Economies and representatives of the businesses sector to meet and discuss current issues relating to agricultural biotechnology.
The theme for this year's Private Sector Day was "Consumer Acceptance of Agricultural Biotechnology".
The APEC HLPDAB is set to become a regular fixture on the APEC calendar with the next meeting due to be held in Viet Nam in early 2006 followed by Australia in 2007.