Introduction

Article 28, paragraph 2 of the Cartagena Protocol provides that “the financial mechanism established in Article 21 of the Convention shall, through the institutional structure entrusted with its operation, be the financial mechanism for this Protocol”. The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP) in decision I/2 designated the restructured Global Environment Facility (GEF) to serve as the institutional structure to operate the financial mechanism under the Convention on an interim basis.

The relationship between the GEF and the Convention is governed by a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Conference of the Parties to the Convention and the Council of the GEF, which was adopted by the COP in its decision III/8 . Under that MoU, the GEF functions under the authority and guidance of, and is accountable to, the COP for the purposes of the Convention. The COP provides guidance to the GEF on policy, strategies and programme priorities.

In accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 28 of the Protocol, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (COP-MOP) prepares draft guidance with respect to financial support for the Protocol for consideration by the COP and inclusion as appropriate in the guidance to the financial mechanism.

COP Guidance to the Financial Mechanism related to Biosafety

Following the recommendation from the first meeting of the COP-MOP, the Conference of the Parties in its decision VII/20 , paragraphs 20-26, provided detailed guidance to the GEF with regard to the Cartagena Protocol, including the eligibility criteria, strategy and programme priorities. Links to other relevant decisions of COP regarding guidance to the financial mechanism related to biosafety are provided below.

In its decision BS-II/5 , COP-MOP encouraged the Global Environment Facility and the Executive Secretary of the Convention to continue their strong collaboration in advancing support to the implementation of the Protocol.

In its decision BS-III/5 , COP-MOP urged the GEF to expeditiously finalize, approve and implement the biosafety strategy and submitted its recommendations to the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention so that the later provides further guidance to the GEF on a number of items, including on the proposed resource allocation framework.

In its decision BS-IV/5, the COP-MOP made a recommendation to the COP (which was subsequently adopted in Decision IX/30) requesting the GEF, among other things, to extend the UNEP-GEF Biosafety Clearing-House project and to make financial resources available to eligible parties to prepare their national reports, build capacities in the area of sampling and detection of LMOs and to enable their universities to develop and/or expand biosafety academic programmes. The GEF was also requested to consider, during its fifth replenishment period (2010-2014), the biosafety priority needs specified in the decision.

GEF-Supported Projects on Biosafety

Following the adoption of the Protocol in 2000, the GEF Council approved in November 2000 an initial strategy for assisting countries to prepare for the entry into force of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety together with a global UNEP-GEF project to assist all eligible countries to develop national biosafety frameworks (NBFs). The project was launched in June 2001, and has assisted 123 countries. Under the initial strategy, the GEF also provided support to 12 demonstration projects for capacity-building in implementation of national biosafety frameworks (NBFs).

In November 2003, the GEF approved an add-on project to the UNEP-GEF project on the Development of NBFs entitled Building Capacity for Effective Participation in the Biosafety Clearing House (BCH) of the Cartagena Protocol.

New and Additional Financial Resources

The Protocol, in Article 28, paragraphs 1 and 6 , encourages developed country Parties to provide additional financial and technological resources, over and above the financial mechanism, to enable developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition to implement the Protocol. These resources can be provided through bilateral, regional and multilateral channels, taking into account Article 20 of the Convention .

In its decision BS-II/5 , COP-MOP encouraged all donors and their agencies as well as the Global Environment Facility to simplify, to the extent possible, their project cycle requirements in order to expedite access, by developing country Parties and the Parties with economies in transition, to the financial resources needed to assist the implementation of the Protocol.

Related links:

Decisions of the Conference of the Parties and COP-MOP

	Decision BS-IV/5, Bonn, Germany; May 2008
	Decision BS-III/5, Curitiba, Brazil; March 2006
	Decision BS-II/5, Montreal, Canada; June 2005
	Decision VII/20, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; February 2004
	Decision VI/17 The Hague, The Netherlands; April 2002
	Decision V/13, Nairobi, Kenya; May 2000
	Decision III/5 and III/20, Buenos Aires, Argentina, November, 1996

COP-MOP Documents

	UNEP/CBD/BS/COP-MOP/4/5
	Matters Related to the Financial Mechanism and Resources
	UNEP/CBD/BS/COP-MOP/3/5
	Matters Related to the Financial Mechanism and Resources
	UNEP/CBD/BS/COP-MOP/3/INF/12
	Report of the Evaluation of GEF Support for Biosafety
	UNEP/CBD/BS/COP-MOP/2/5
	Matters Related to the Financial Mechanism and Resources
	UNEP/CBD/BS/COP-MOP/1/12
	Guidance to the financial mechanism
	UNEP/CBD/BS/COP-MOP/1//INF/19
	GEF support for capacity-building

ICCP Documents

	UNEP/CBD/ICCP/2/5
	Guidance to the financial mechanism (Art. 28, paragraph 5, Art. 22)
	UNEP/CBD/ICCP/1/INF/2
	Capacity-building: Initial Strategy for Assisting Countries to Prepare for the Entry into Force of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety: submission by the secretariat of the Global Environment Facility.