India will push against punitive action being taken on countries failing to implement the Cartagena Protocol on bio-safety norms, till they frame domestic laws for the purpose. India has decided to take this stand as several countries are yet to pass laws and develop safe handling mechanisms of genetically modified life forms or Living Modified Organisms (LMOs). India itself has the laws in place.
The Indian stand will be enunciated during the Meeting of Parties (MOP-6) of the UN Convention of Biodiversity that kickstarts the 193-nation CoP-11 (Conference of Parties) on Monday. All arrangements are in place for the biggest conference of its kind in the country. The UN Security Service has taken over the venue, the HICC at Madhapur, and delegates have arrived for the conference.
In an exclusive interview with this newspaper, Union environment secretary T. Chatterjee said, “India has accepted all provisions of the Cartagena Protocol on bio-safety. Our position on the Protocol is to support it totally. There will be discussions on standards, handling, transport, packaging and identification of LMOs. India has already got laws and rules in place. However, some of the countries are yet to come up with laws and mechanisms. So we will support ‘no punitive action’ until all nations frame them.”
He said that risk assessment will also be discussed during the MoP-6. He added that identification of LMO in agriculture, health and food sectors is yet to be done in several countries. A supplementary document, the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur supplementary protocol on liability and redressing the Cartegnea Protocol on bio-safety, speaks about civil liability laws.