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. Matters related to the financial mechanism and resources

BS-VI/5.Matters related to the financial mechanism and resources

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,
Recalling decisions BS-I/5, BS-II/5, BS-III/5, BS-IV/5 and BS-V/5,
Noting with concern the drastic decline in the level of bilateral and multilateral funding available for biosafety capacity-building activities,
1.Urges Parties to give priority to national biosafety plans and projects under the Global Environment Facility's System for Transparent Allocation of Resources (STAR) to ensure support for the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

I.Guidance to the financial mechanism

2.Recommends to the Conference of the Parties, in adopting its further guidance to the financial mechanism with respect to support for the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, that it invite the Global Environment Facility to:
(a)Support regional and multi-country thematic capacity-building projects for the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety using Focal Area Set-aside resources under the biodiversity focal area, outside national STAR allocations;
(b)Allow for more flexibility in the utilization of funds provided for capacity-building to address emerging needs within the overall framework of approved projects;
(c)Further streamline, simplify and expedite, to the extent possible, the process of accessing funds from the GEF trust fund;
(d)Consider developing a new strategy for financing biosafety, incorporating the priorities and objectives of the Strategic Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety 2011-2020 and other developments that have taken place since 2006;
(e)Set aside the guidance contained in paragraph 21 (b) of decision VII/20, which allowed Parties to the Convention that are not yet Parties to the Protocol to receive GEF funding for certain capacity-building activities related to biosafety after providing a clear political commitment towards becoming Parties to the Protocol;
(f)Provide further support to all eligible Parties for capacity-building in the use of the Biosafety Clearing-House, based on experiences or lessons learned during the Project or Continued Enhancement of Building Capacity for Effective Participation in the Biosafety Clearing-House and using resources under the biodiversity focal area;
(g)Make available, in a timely manner, adequate and predictable financial resources to eligible Parties to facilitate the preparation of their third national reports under the Protocol;
(h)Provide support to eligible Parties that have not yet done so to initiate implementation of their legal, administrative and other measures for the implementation of the Protocol;
(i)Take into account the new Framework and Action Plan for Capacity-Building for the Effective Implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in providing financial support to developing countries and countries with economies in transition;
(j)Provide financial and technical assistance to developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition to undertake, as appropriate, the testing activities referred to in paragraph 3 of decision BS-VI/12 on risk assessment and risk management;
(k)Provide financial and technical assistance to developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition to implement the capacity-building activities referred in paragraph 9 of decision BS-VI/12 on risk assessment and risk management;
(l)Make financial resources available with a view to supporting awareness-raising, experience-sharing and capacity-building activities in order to expedite the early entry into force and implementation of the Nagoya - Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Protocol;
(m)Cooperate with and support developing country Parties and Parties with economies in transition to build capacity to implement the detection and identification requirements of paragraphs 2(b) and 2(c) of Article 18 of the Protocol and related decisions, including by facilitating the transfer of technology
(n)Consider, within the four-year outcome-oriented framework of programme priorities for biodiversity for the sixth GEF replenishment period (2014-2018), the following programme priorities with respect to biosafety:
1.National biosafety frameworks;
2.Risk assessment and risk management;
3.Handling, transport, packaging and identification of living modified organisms;
4.Liability and redress;
5.Public awareness, education, access to information and participation;
6.Information sharing, including full participation in the Biosafety Clearing House;
7.Biosafety education and training;
8.Activities recommended by the Compliance Committee to assist eligible Parties to comply with their obligations under the Protocol; and
9.Socio-economic considerations;
(o)In providing support for priority 9 specified in subparagraph (n) above, take into account the outcome of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Socio-Economic Considerations and the decision on the appropriate further steps towards fulfilling operational objective 1.7 of the Strategic Plan for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety 2011-2020, recognizing that further work to develop conceptual clarity on the issue is under way;
(p)In allocating resources under the biodiversity focal area, consider making a notional allocation which improves the biosafety share of the biodiversity focal area to support the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety during the sixth replenishment period (2014-2018);

II.Mobilization of additional resources

1.Emphasizes the need to include financing for biosafety as part of sustainable development financing in the context of the outcomes of the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development that relate to finance, especially section VI.A;
2.Urges Parties and invites other Governments to implement, as appropriate, the following measures within the overall framework of the Strategy for Resource Mobilization in support of the Convention on Biological Diversity, with a view to mobilizing additional financial resources for implementation of the Protocol and in accordance with Articles 20 and 21 of the Convention and Article 28 of the Protocol:
(a)Identify and seek funding support from diverse sources including regional and international donor agencies, foundations and, as appropriate, through private sector involvement;
(b)Establish strategic partnerships with other Parties and other Governments and with various organizations, regional bodies or centres of excellence with a view to pooling resources and/or widening opportunities and possibilities for mobilizing resources from various sources;
(c)Identify and maximize opportunities for technical cooperation with regional and international organizations, institutions and development assistance agencies;
(d)Mainstream biosafety into national development plans and relevant sectoral policies, strategies and programmes, including development assistance programmes and national biodiversity strategies and action plans;
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(e)Consider designating dedicated staff for resource mobilization and building internal capacity to mobilize resources for the implementation of national biosafety activities in a systematic, coordinated and sustainable manner;
(f)Ensure efficient use of available resources and adopt cost-effective approaches to capacity-building;
3.Invites Parties and other Governments to exchange, through the Biosafety Clearing House, information on their experiences, good practices and lessons learned on the mobilization of resources at the national and regional levels;
4.Requests the Executive Secretary to include resource mobilization for the Protocol in activities to facilitate the implementation of the strategy for resource mobilization in support of the Convention on Biological Diversity, including in regional and subregional workshops to assist Parties to elaborate country-specific resource mobilization strategies for the implementation of national biodiversity strategies and action plans;
5.Also requests the Executive Secretary to further communicate with the GEF Secretariat before the meeting of the GEF Council in November 2012 in order to discuss the possibility of opening a special financial support window for implementation of the Protocol, and to report on the outcome to the Parties to the Protocol.
BS-VI/4 BS-VI/6