Jayanthi Natarajan Addresses CoP-11 CBD

The United Nations meeting on the safe use of Living Modified Organisms, or the Parties Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP MOP 6), began at HICC Convention Centre in Hyderabad on Monday.

Masamichi Saigo, Representative of COP-MOP 6 (Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety), President (Japan), declared open the 19-day conference, which was attended by hundreds of delegates from about 200 countries. The conference will discuss the safe handling and transfer of living modified organisms (LMOs).

Addressing the inaugural session of the 19-day conference, Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jayanti Natarajan said that it is not an easy task to balance modern technology and its impact on biosafety.

"There are no shortcuts to achieving this balance. LMOs (living modified organisms) is a controversial issue, with concerns on long-term impact on ecology and conservation," she said.

Recalling that India already signed the supplementary protocol on liabilities last year, the minister urged all other countries to fast track ratification. She emphasised that the protocol must be followed in letter and spirit. She also advocated science-based regulation in view of the significant increase in investments in biotechnology in several countries.

Speaking on the occasion, Governor E S L Narasimhan emphasised the need for all countries to jointly tackle issues relating to health and hunger. He also expressed concern over the threat to the environment due to the extensive use of pesticides in the farming sector.

Narasimhan also called upon the conference to hold detailed discussions on the depletion of water resources and the decrease in irrigated lands, and come out with suitable remedial measures.

COP MOP 6, a five-day meet, will conclude on October 5. This will be followed by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 11) between October 8 and 19, and is expected to see the participation of heads of countries and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Around 2,000 delegates from more than 150 countries are participate in COP MOP 6, which will discuss and adopt further decisions to ensure the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology. (INN)