Agencia Brasil

Curitiba – One of the main issues to be discussed during the 3rd Meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol (MOP-3), from March 13-17, in the southern Brazilian city of Curitiba, will be whether cargos of living modified organisms (LMOs) should be identified or not.

Brazilian Ministry of Environment confirmed the participation of representatives of 131 countries, which have already ratified the document. Delegates will analyze necessary measures for the implementation of and compliance with the Cartagena Protocol, which requires safe transportation, handling, and use of transgenic products.

For the Secretary of Biodiversity and Forests of the Ministry, João Paulo Capobianco, the core of the issue is the level of information an exporter country should provide to the one importing. This discussion, as Capobianco recalls, started during the first meeting of the parties, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2004, and continued during the second meeting, in Montreal, Canada, last year. Capobianco believes the meeting in Brazil will be extremely important to bring a final decision on the subject.

MOP-3 central subjects will be the identification, packaging, handling, and use of LMOs; the responsibility and compensation matters related to damages resulting from LMOs international transportation.

Risk assessment, safety handling and communication will also be discussed, as well as cooperation with other organizations, conventions, or programs. Meeting participants will also discuss LMOs identification methodologies, as well as public perception and participation in the implementation of the protocol.

The MOP-3 is a preparatory meeting for the 8th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP-8), which begins on the 20th of March, also in Curitiba.

The COP-8 will count on the participation of official delegations of 188 members of the Convention on Biological Diversity (187 countries and a regional bloc, the European Union). 5 thousand people are expected at both events. Simultaneously to the meetings there will be a high-level meeting, March 26-29, with at least 100 Ministers of Environment.

Translation: Andréa Alves