WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.2/Rev.1 
24 August 2010 
 
 (10-4427) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
APPLICANTS FOR OBSERVER STATUS 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
Revision  
 
 
1. A renewed application for observer stat us in the SPS Committee was received on 
11 August 2010 from the Convention on Biological Di versity (CBD).  Information provided by the 
CBD is summarized below. 
I. CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY AND ITS CARTAGENA 
PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY 
1. Membership  
2. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an intergovernmental treaty with 
193 Parties (192 States and one regional organization) .  It entered into force on 29 December 1993.  
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (hereafter the "Cartagena Protocol") entered into force on 
11 September 2003.  It currently has 160 Parties (159 States and one regiona l organization) and only 
Parties to the Convention may become Parties to the Protocol. 
2. Mandate, Scope and Area of Work 
3. The objectives of the CBD are the conservation of biological diversity (or "biodiversity"), the 
sustainable use of its components, and the fair and e quitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the 
utilization of genetic resources ( www.cbd.int ).  Article 8(h) of the Convention calls upon Parties to 
prevent the introduction of, control or eradicate those alien species which threaten ecosystems, 
habitats or species – important components of biodive rsity.  In 2004, the Conference of the Parties, 
the governing body of the Convention, recognized the need to strengthen institutional coordination at 
international, regional and nationa l levels on invasive alien species as a trade-related issue, and 
therefore invited the World Trade Organization and its  relevant bodies to give consideration to the 
risks from invasive alien species in their deliber ations.  In 2008, the Conference of the Parties 
reviewed the on-going work on invasive alien sp ecies and requested the Executive Secretary to 
continue collaboration with rele vant international organizations with a view to filling gaps and 
promoting coherence in the regulatory framework, reducing duplication, prom oting other actions to 
address invasive alien species at the national leve l and facilitating support to Parties including through 
capacity-building. 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO. G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.2/Rev.1 
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  4. Article 8(g) of the Convention requires each Part y to establish or maintain means to regulate, 
manage or control the risks associated with th e use and release of living modified organisms 
(commonly known as genetically modified organisms – GMOs).  As part of the requirement, Parties 
to the Convention adopted, in January 2000, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity.  The Cartagena Protocol applies to the transboundary movement, transit, 
handling and use of living modified organisms (LMOs)  with the aim of ensuring an adequate level of 
protection in regard to the conservation and sustai nable use of biodiversity, taking into account risks 
to human health.  The Cartagena Protocol sets out procedures for notification and decision-making on the import and export of LMOs.  It includes, among other provisions, an advance informed agreement 
procedure for LMOs for intentional introduction into the environment strongly linked with 
requirements for scientifically sound risk assessment  as well as provisions on risk management; and a 
simplified procedure for LMOs being traded as comm odities.  The Cartagena Protocol also contains 
requirements for the safe handling, transport, packaging and identification of LMOs. 
5. To ensure its effective implementation, th e Cartagena Protocol includes provisions for 
capacity-building for developing-country Parties to strengthen their biosafety-related human resources 
and institutional capacities.  A Biosafety Clearing-House ( http://bch.cbd.int/
) facilitates the exchange 
of such information as countries' biosafety regulat ory systems and their decisions on specific LMOs. 
6. The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties (the governing body of the 
Protocol) has repeatedly requested  the Executive Secretary to pursue efforts to obtain observer status 
for the CBD Secretariat with the WTO's Committe e on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.   
3. Contribution to the Work of the SPS Committee 
7. Establishment of close collaboration with the SPS Committee is needed to address the gaps in 
the international regulatory framework relevant to  invasive alien species, and to facilitate the 
implementation of pertinent international standa rds and guidelines, in particular by developing 
countries.  In 2008, the Conference of the Parties to the CBD invited the WTO SPS Committee to note the lack of international standards to address risks from invasive alien species associated with 
international trade (decision IX/4 A, 30 May 2010).   In the same decision, the Parties requested 
continued collaboration with re levant international organizati ons including the SPS Committee and 
the standard setting organizations identified in th e Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures.  
8. The Executive Secretary of the CBD establishe d an inter-agency liaison group on invasive 
alien species (hereafter Liaison Group) and held a meeting on 17-18 June 2010 at the headquarters of 
the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to facilitate the requested collaboration.  The Liaison 
Group agreed to continue collaboration in (i) se tting standards/guidelines on the movement of living 
animals, plants and other organisms and ( ii) capacity development to implement the 
standards/guidelines in order to address the i ssues related to invasive alien species.  
9. There is also a close relationship between th e SPS Agreement and the Cartagena Protocol in 
terms of their purpose, coverage and some of their core requireme nts.  The SPS Agreement covers 
measures intended to protect animals and plants fro m pests or diseases while the Cartagena Protocol 
aims at protecting biological diversity.  The SPS Agreement also covers measures whose purpose is 
the protection of human or animal health from f ood-borne risks, and human health from animal- and 
plant-carried diseases, while the Cartagena Protocol takes also into account risks to human health and 
promotes the transparent movement of LMOs that ar e intended for direct use as food or feed or for 
processing.  The SPS Agreement promotes the use of science and scientific risk assessment as a 
means for substantiating trade-related measures.  Si milarly the Cartagena Protocol requires decisions 
on the import of LMOs to be based on scientific risk  assessment and includes a technical annex to that 
effect outlining the factors that need to be taken into account in risk assessments.  Observer status  G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.2/Rev.1 
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  with the SPS Committee would thus allow the CBD Secretariat to provide information to the 
Committee on the status of implementation of these and other relevant requirements under the 
Protocol and in return to gather information re garding the SPS Agreement process, in particular the 
notifications on national measures, and advise Pa rties to the Protocol on such developments. 
10. Parties to the Cartagena Protocol are also ve ry interested in biosafety-related standards 
including in the areas of the identification, handlin g, packaging and transport of LMOs.  Cooperation 
with other standard-setting organizations, includi ng the International Plant Protection Convention 
(IPPC), is well underway.  Observer status in the SPS Committee would improve opportunities for 
exchange of information on matters of mutual in terest among the Cartagena Protocol, the WTO and 
its Members, and its three standard-setting "s isters", namely the IPPC, OIE and the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission. 
11. The CBD holds observer status in the WTO Co mmittee on Trade and Environment in Regular 
Session (CTE-R) and is invited on an ad hoc ba sis to meetings of the Committee on Trade and 
Environment in Special Session (CTE-SS).  The CBD  has also requested observer status in the 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade, the Co mmittee on Agriculture and the Council for Trade-
Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. 
4. Reciprocity 
12. The WTO Secretariat has observer status in the CBD and participates in meetings of the 
Conference of the Parties and its subsidiary bodies on a regular basis. 
5. Terminology 
13. Under the CBD's work on invasive alien speci es, "alien species" refers to a species, 
subspecies or lower taxon, introduced outside its na tural past or present distribution;  includes any 
part, gametes, seeds, eggs, or propagules of such species that might survive and subsequently reproduce.  "Invasive alien species" means an alie n species whose introduction and/or spread threaten 
biological diversity. 
 
 
 
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