| The project’s first regional
consultation was held from 7-10 July 2002 at the Century Park
Hotel in Bangkok. The participants included: projects focal
points (members of the Steering Committee and Technical Expert
Group; biosafety authorities from other Asian countries, representative
from Regional and International organizations, leading resource
persons in GMO development and related biosafety legislation
and regulatory frameworks (government and private institutions),
representatives of NGO and other social groups (representing
other stakeholders) and other potential members of the Asian
Bionet.
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Proceedings
of the meeting
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This consultation was held in order to: identify strengths and
weaknesses of national capacities; prioritize support for enhancing
national capacities; develop work plan on harmonization of biosafety
methodologies; promote collaboration and avoid duplication of efforts;
develop constitutional framework for the Asian BioNet; aand hold
a meeting of the Steering Committee and Technical Expert Group.
The meeting came out with the following recommendations:
 Agriculture
plays an important role in national economy and development, with
most of the population residing in rural areas. Biotehcnology
has potentials but its development is varied among participating
countries. The benefits and potentials of GMOs and GMFs are recognized
among a certain percentage of the population and authorities,
but they remain controversial issues.- In this context, the Regional Consultation on “Capacity
Building in Biosafety of Gm Crops in Asia” was held from
7 to July 2003 at the Century Park Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. The
participants included participating countries in the project (Bangladesh,
China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines,
Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam); Japan; representatives from UN
agencies, the CGIAR and other international research centres,
NGOs/INGOs and the industry sector, resource persons and other
stakeholders were also present.
The meeting agreed on the following issues:
- Capacity building through national or regional workshops, networking
and a roster of experts on, inter alia, human resource development
on biosafety; intellectual property rights; communication; and
information management. Countries are encouraged to seed resources
from various sources, in addition to this project.
There will be four regional training workshops to address common
needs and priorities, namely, RA/RM procedures including monitoring;
public awareness/risk communication; detection of GMOs; and intellectual
property rights. Ten national workshops, one for each country,
sponsored by the project, will be held to address the specific
needs of each country. Each country may hold additional workshops
as the need arises but they should seek additional resources.
- Standardization of procedures and methodologies for risk assessment
and risk management, including double verification and GMO detection.
A regional consultation on this subject will be organized. Laboratory
networking will be facilitated.
- Public awareness on GMOs, including materials for public outreach;
and methodologies for effective outreach.
 The
meeting also agreed on the establishment of the Asian BioNet, which
will contribute to the coordination of stakeholders and information
sharing. The secretariat will prepare the proposal for further consideration
by the Steering Committee and Technical Expert Group to facilitate
the nomination of the Second Meeting.
The meeting agreed that the Project Secretariat should formulate
the TORs to be sent to all the countries so they can express their
preferences as to the designation of the representatives of both
the Steering Committee and the Technical Expert Group. In this connection,
the meeting recommended the inclusion of UNEP-GEF, BIOTROP, ISNAR
and JIRCS, NGOs and private sector representatives.
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