SCE, DANAT submit Bahrain's 4th national report on biosafety

Manama, Apr. 16 (BNA): The Supreme Council for Environment (SCE) and the Bahrain Institute for Pearls and Gemstones (DANAT) today submitted Bahrain’s fourth National Report on “Biosafety”, in cooperation with the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Sciences in the Arab States, and support of the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The report is within the framework of the kingdom’s commitment to the “Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety” emanating from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Commenting, Special Envoy for Climate Affairs and SCE’s Chief Executive, Dr. Mohammed bin Mubarak bin Daina, said that the presentation of the report proves once again the kingdom’s commitment to international conventions pertaining to biodiversity, as well as its keenness to support the relevant regional and global efforts aimed at achieving the goals of sustainable development. He hailed the partnership with DANAT in preparing the report, affirming the two sides’ continuous work to implement the protocol at the national level. DANAT CEO, Noora Jamsheer, said that the report is the outcome of the ongoing cooperation with the SCE, praising the SCE’s confidence in the DANAT’s staff in preparing and publishing the report. Regional Director and Representative of UNESCO Regional Bureau for Sciences in the Arab States, Dr. Abdulaziz Almuzaini, expressed UNESCO’s delight at providing the technical support for the kingdom to prepare its fourth report on biosafety, in partnership with the SCE and DANAT. Adopted on 29 January 2000 and entered into force on 11 September 2003, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement aiming to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health.