The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment in its commitment to implement the National Biosafety Framework is establishing a biosafety policy and the supportive legislation.
A draft biosafety policy and bill have been reviewed and revised by a local legal consultant and through recent national consultations.
In continuing the process of framing the National Biosafety Policy and Bill, Dr. Marlene Keese, a Legal Consultant, of the International Centre of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) will assess the status of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ biosafety legislative framework.
Dr. Keese will be in the State on Monday to meet with key stakeholders.
This visit is part of the assistance given by the Regional Biosafety Implementation Project, executed by the University of the West Indies, to help participating countries strengthen their national biosafety frameworks.
The Ministry says the legislative framework is essential to guide the to compliance of the government with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and to respond to challenges posed by a rapidly advancing modern biotechnology, of which the growing international trade in Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) must be of great concern.
The Ministry would host a media brief on Monday to further sensitize the public about the importance of biosafety legislation.
It would be held at the Conference Room of the Fisheries Division in Kingstown.
