CBDDistr.
GENERAL
UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/1/Add.1
18 November 2009
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH
THIRD INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF ACADEMIC
INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN
BIOSAFETY EDUCATION AND TRAINING
Tsukuba, Japan, 15-17 February 2010
Item 2 of the provisional agenda*

ANNOTATIONS TO THE PROVISIONAL AGENDA
Note by the Executive SecretaryI.

INTRODUCTION

1.
Article 22 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety requires Parties to cooperate in thedevelopment and/or strengthening of human resources and institutional capacities in biosafety, including
biotechnology to the extent that it is required for biosafety, for the purpose of the effective
implementation of the Protocol. It states that such cooperation includes scientific and technical training
and the enhancement of technological and institutional capacities in biosafety.
2.
At their previous meetings, the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol have made a number ofdecisions specifically aimed at promoting formal education and training in biosafety in order to develop apool of biosafety professionals to facilitate the implementation of the Protocol. These include: decision
BS-II/3 (paragraphs 5-11), decision BS-III/3 (paragraphs 11 (a) and 11 (b)), decision BS-III/11(paragraphs 16-17) and decision BS-IV/3, paragraphs 7-13).
3.
A number of initiatives have been taken at national, regional and international levels to promoteformal education and training in biosafety. At the global level, two coordination meetings of academic
institutions and organizations involved in biosafety education and training have been held to date. The
first meeting took place in Geneva, from 4 to 6 October 2004,. It was organized by the Swiss Agency forEnvironment, Forests and Landscape (SAEFL) in collaboration with the Secretariat of the Convention onBiological Diversity, the UNEP/GEF Biosafety Unit and the Geneva Environment Network. The
meeting, inter alia, reviewed the status and nature of existing training and education programmes inbiosafety and allowed participants to share experiences about their programmes. The main outcome ofthe meeting was the development of a common format (questionnaire) for the compendium of existingbiosafety training and education programmes, which was later integrated into the Biosafety
Clearing-House. The meeting also made several recommendations which were adopted indecision BS-II/3.
*UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/1.

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4.
The second meeting was held in Kuala Lumpur from 16 to 18 April 2007. It was organized by theSecretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) and the Government of Malaysia through the University of Malaya. The
discussions focused on key considerations that need to be taken into account in developing new academic
programmes in biosafety and/or expanding biosafety existing ones (including core curriculum elements
and quality control criteria) and measures to promote South-South and North-South cooperation between
institutions involved in biosafety education and training. Among other things, participants agreed toinitiate, at the regional level, networks of academic institutions involved in biosafety education andtraining.
5.
The present meeting is organized by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversityand the Government of Japan through the University of Tsukuba in collaboration with the Institute ofAdvanced Studies of the United Nations University (UNU-IAS). The objectives of the meeting are to:(a)Exchange information and experiences on existing biosafety education and training
programmes and initiatives;(b)
Review the progress made in implementing recommendations of the previous two
meetings of academic institutions and organizations involved in biosafety education and training;(c)
Propose strategies and mechanisms to improve biosafety education and training
programmes in order to meet the needs of Parties to the Protocol, including the possibility of developing
model biosafety education programmes tailored to the needs of different regions;(d)Explore options for facilitating ongoing collaboration and exchange of information,
training materials, curricula and faculty members between academic institutions and organizations
offering biosafety education and training programmes.
6.
The meeting is expected to make recommendations for advancing biosafety education andtraining and for promoting collaboration among academic institutions and organizations involved in
biosafety education and training. The conclusions and recommendations of the meeting will be presented
to the Parties to the Protocol for consideration at their fifth meeting, to be held in Nagoya from 11 to 15
October 2010,.
ITEM 1.

OPENING OF THE MEETING

7.
The meeting will be opened by a representative of the Government of Japan, the host of themeeting, at 10 a.m. on 15 February 2010. A representative of the Secretariat will also make opening
remarks.
ITEM 2.

ORGANIZATIONAL MATTERS
2.1.

8.

Election of officers

The meeting will be invited to elect its Chair and Rapporteur from among the participants.
2.2.

Adoption of the agenda

9.
The meeting will be invited to adopt its agenda on the basis of the provisional agenda(UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/1), developed by the Secretariat in consultation with the local organizers inJapan.
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2.3.

Organization of work

10.
Participants will be invited to consider and adopt the proposed organization of work as containedin annex I below. Participants will also be invited to raise any other relevant issues related to thebuilding of capacities for the effective implementation of the Protocol under agenda item 7 (Othermatters).
ITEM 3.

EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AND EXPERIENCES ON EXISTING
BIOSAFETY EDUCATION PROGRAMMES

11.
In the last decade, a few universities and other institutions around the world have developed
biosafety education programmes at graduate and post-graduate levels and short-term non-academic
training programmes. 1 Those programmes have evolved over time and important lessons have beenlearned. Under this item, four detailed invited case-studies on specific biosafety academic programmes
will be presented. Participants will also be invited to make short presentations on the status of theirbiosafety education programmes and training activities and share their experiences and lessons learned
with emphasis on the developments that have occurred since the last meeting held in 2007 in Kuala
Lumpur. Those participants wishing to share more detailed information will be invited to submit to theSecretariat prior to the meeting written reports which will be compiled and made available prior to themeeting as an information document (UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/INF/1).
ITEM 4.

PROGRESS ON IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RECOMMENDATIONSMADE BY PREVIOUS INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS OF ACADEMIC
INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN BIOSAFETYEDUCATION AND TRAINING

12.
The two previous international meetings of academic institutions and organizations involved inbiosafety education and training (see paras. 3 and 4 above) made a number of recommendations andproposed follow-up actions. Under this item, the meeting will review the progress made in implementing
those recommendations and make suggestions for improvement. Representatives from the five regionalgroupings, i.e., Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America and theCaribbean and the Western Europe and Others Group, will be invited to present reports on the progress
made in implementing the follow-up activities in their respective regions. The meeting will also attempt
to review in general how biosafety education and training has evolved over the last five years.
ITEM 5.

STRATEGIES AND MECHANISMS TO IMPROVE BIOSAFETYEDUCATION AND TRAINING

13.
Under this item, participants will be invited to review strategies and mechanisms for developing
new, and/or improving existing, biosafety education and training programmes. There will bebrainstorming sessions to tap new ideas aimed at meeting the biosafety education needs of countries, inparticular developing country Parties to the Protocol. 2 Discussion groups will be established to1

These include: Ancona Marche Polytechnic University (Italy), Ghent University (Belgium), Iowa State University (UnitedStates of America), Michigan State University (United States of America), Moi University, Pontifical Catholic University of
Minas Gerais (Brazil), Universidad de Concepción (Chile), University of Canterbury (New Zealand), University of Havana(Cuba), University of Malaya (Malaysia), University of Sheffield (UnitedK) and University of Tromsø (Norway). Institutions
providing or coordination biosafety training include: United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), GenØkCentre for Biosafety, International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) and others.
2It is recognized that "standardization" of programmes is not possible but it is hoped that exchanging information andexperiences may help to broader the perspectives of different institutions on how to improve their programmes.

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consolidate the ideas on different issues and elaborate options to operationalize those ideas. Among otherthings, the groups will be invited to:(a)Review the biosafety training needs expressed by Parties to the Protocol and makesuggestions on how biosafety education and training programmes could respond to those needs;(b)
Identify new topics/subject areas that need to be incorporated in the core curriculum of
biosafety education and training programmes;(c)
Explore the possibility of developing model biosafety education programmes/modules
tailored to the needs of different regions and the mechanisms for doing so;(d)Discuss modalities for developing joint training materials on different subject areas;(e)Discuss minimum mandatory requirements and standards for certification in biosafety tobe recommended to relevant authorities of academic institutions that award the credentials, in order tomake biosafety an internationally recognized discipline;(f)
programmes;

Propose quality-control criteria and mechanisms for biosafety education and training(g)
Discuss mechanisms to facilitate transfer of academic credits across different biosafety
academic programmes.
ITEM 6.

COLLABORATION AND EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION AMONG
ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS AND ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN
BIOSAFETY EDUCATION AND TRAINING

14.
Biosafety education and training programmes are relatively new offerings in most academicinstitutions around the world, and many are still evolving. There is clearly a need for institutions
offering those programmes to collaborate, share resources and learn from each other in order toeffectively meet the global biosafety challenges and the demand for well trained professionals to address
those challenges. This could include: collaborative degree programmes/joint curricula, academic credit
transfer arrangements, exchange of teaching materials, sharing of facilities, faculty and student
exchanges, joint fellowship programmes; and/or joint research programmes. Collaboration andnetworking is already taking place among some universities and institutions, for example those under theUNIDO e-Biosafety Training Network,3 the BiosafeTrain programme4 and the Asian Biosafety Education
Network (ABEN).515.
Under this agenda item, participants will be invited to explore strategies and concrete actions tofacilitate the establishment of new, and/or strengthening existing, collaborative arrangements or networks
among academic institutions and other organizations offering biosafety education programmes, atregional or subregional levels, taking into account the experiences and lessons learned from related
collaborative partnerships and networks.

3

See details about the network at: http://binas.unido.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
BiosafeTrain programme: http://www.biosafetrain.dk
5
See details about the Asian Biosafety Education Network at: http://www.aben.ait.ac.th
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ITEM 7.

OTHER MATTERS

16.
Under this item, participants will be invited to raise any other matters relevant tocapacity-building for the effective implementation of the Protocol.
ITEM 8.

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

17.
Participants will be invited to formulate and adopt the conclusions and recommendations of themeeting, which may be submitted for consideration by the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties
serving as the meeting of Parties to the Protocol.
ITEM 9.
18.

CLOSURE OF THE MEETING

It is expected that the meeting will be closed at 5 p.m. on 17 February 2010.

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UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/1/Add.1
Page 6Annex I
PROPOSED ORGANIZATION OF WORK

15 February 201010 a.m. – 10.30 a.m.

Agenda item:
1.
Opening of the meeting.

10.30 a.m. – 10.45 a.m.

Agenda items:
2.
Organizational matters:
2.1.
Election of officers;
2.2.
Adoption of the agenda;
2.3.
Organization of work.

10.45 a.m. – 11.15 a.m.
11.15 a.m. – 1 p.m.

1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
2 p.m. – 3.30 p.m.

Coffee/Tea BreakAgenda items:
3.
Exchange of information and experiences on existing biosafety education
programmes.
Lunch BreakAgenda item 3 (continued)

3.30 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Coffee/Tea Break

4 p.m. – 5.30 p.m.

Agenda items:
4.
Progress on the implementation of the recommendations of previous
international meetings of academic institutions and organizations involved inbiosafety education and training.

16 February 2010
9 a.m. – 10.30 a.m.

Agenda items:
5.
Strategies and mechanisms to improve biosafety education and training.

10.30 a.m. – 11 a.m.
11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
2 p.m. – 3.30 p.m.

3.30 p.m. – 4 p.m.
4 p.m. – 5.30 p.m.
17 February 2010
9 a.m. – 10.30 a.m.
10.30 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Coffee/Tea BreakAgenda item 5 (continued)
Group discussions on item 5
Lunch BreakAgenda items:
6.
Collaboration and exchange of information among academic institutions
and organizations involved in biosafety education and training.
Coffee/Tea BreakAgenda item 6 (continued)
Group discussions on item 6
Agenda items:
Group presentations
Coffee/Tea Break/…

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11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
1 p.m. – 2 p.m.
2 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Agenda items:
Consideration of group discussion reports
Lunch BreakAgenda items:
7.
Other matters
8.
Conclusions and recommendations
9.
Closure of the meeting.

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UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/1/Add.1
Page 8Annex II
DOCUMENTS FOR THE THIRD INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONSAND ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED IN BIOSAFETY EDUCATION AND TRAININGS
A.

Working documents

SymbolTitle

UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/1

Provisional agenda

UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/1/Add.1

Annotations to the provisional agenda

UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/2

Biosafety education and training: The current status and future
prospects
B.

Information documents

UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/INF/1

Compilation of updates on existing biosafety education andtraining programmes

UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/INF/2

Report of the regional workshop on biosafety education relevant
to genetically engineered crops for academic and non-academic
stakeholders in East Africa, held 17-19 April 2007, Entebbe,Uganda

UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/3/INF/3

Report of the First Workshop on Biosafety Education in Asia held
31 October to 1 November 2007 at the University of Tsukuba,
Japan.

UNEP/CBD/BS/CM-ET/2/4

Report of the Second International Meeting of Academic
Institutions and Organizations Involved in Biosafety Education
and Training held 16 - 18 April 2007, Kuala Lumpur

UNEP/CBD/BS/CMET/1/1

Report of the first coordination meeting for representatives ofacademic institutions actively involved in education and training
programmes in biosafety held 4-6 October 2004, Geneva-----