ZAAB ACCUSES NBA OF FAILING TO IMPLEMENT BASICS OF THE CARTAGENA PROTOCOL,NATIONAL BIOSAFETY ACT 2007

ZAAB ACCUSES NBA OF FAILING TO IMPLEMENT BASICS OF THE CARTAGENA PROTOCOL,NATIONAL BIOSAFETY ACT 2007

...hence increased information gap with regards to GMOs in the country.



By Alfonso Kasongo
A collaborative network of concerned Zambians, civil society groups, faith and farmer-based organisations, working together to strengthen the growing movement for agroecology and food sovereignty, has accused the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) of failing to effectively implement the basics of the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol (CBP) and the National Biosafety Act of 2007.

The network has since attributed the increased information lapses on biotechnology in the country especially on the issuance of permits and importation of mealie meal suspected to have been made from GM maize to lack of information for Zambia, updated on the Biosafety Clearing House.

Amidst continued  controversy and drama on the importation of mealie meal suspected to have been produced from genetically modified maize from South Africa to neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) via Zambia, the network argues that, it  is difficult to reliably verify the permits issued to transit of the said product because Zambia’s profile is not up to date on the international Biosafety Clearing House (BCH) where all decisions and risk assessments must be shared and stored.

The Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH) is an online platform for exchanging information on Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) and a key tool for facilitating the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.

The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety Convention on Biological Diversity, to which Zambia is a part is an international agreement which aims 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. It was adopted on 29 January 2000 and entered into force on 11 September 2003.

Recently there was an expose of a letter in which ministry of agriculture Permanent Secretary for administration Yvonne Mpundu is reported to have issued an import permit to allow Eagles Holding Milling company to import into Zambia 226 metric tons of mealie meal  which may contain GMOs from South Africa.

The letter stated that was in an effort to  advert mealie meal shortages which have rocked the country.

But the Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and Biodiversity (ZAAB) maintains that all information concerning the Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health must be updated on the international Biosafety Clearing House.

ZAAB National Coordinator Mutinta Nketani says the network is concerned about the importation of mealie meal GMO maize from South Africa into the country because the import permits accessed do not state that it is for onward export to the Democratic Republic of Congo among other information lapses.
Ms Chimuka Nketani-ZAAB National Coordinator

Ms Nketani,has,however, accused the National Biosafety Authority, that it has failed to adhere to the most basic and minimal requirements of both international obligations under the Cartagena Protocol, and to the national Biosafety Act of 2007. 

Further,Ms. Nketani discloses that the address listed for the national database on the National Biosafety Authority’s (NBA’s) Facebook page has never worked, stating " there is no complete public record of the activities and decisions of the NBA as well as related bodies," the situation she says makes public engagement impossible.

She adds that what the network has so far established from the publicly available information is...." since 2009, authorities started allowing the import of some processed products that may contain GMOs (ZAAB 2022), including maize-based breakfast cereals and snacks, spices and pet food (NBA 2022)."

She explains that ,according to Zambia’s Biosafety Act, the National Biosafety Authority is obliged to amongst other things:

To establish administrative mechanisms to ensure the appropriate handling, dissemination and storage of documents and data in connection with the processing of applications and notifications and other matters covered by this Act;

To Promote public awareness and education concerning the activities regulated under this Act, through the publication of guidance and other materials that explain and elaborate on the risk assessment, risk management and authorization processes;

It is also supposed to establish and maintain a data base on genetically modified organisms and products of genetically modified organisms intended for direct use as food or feed, or for research and production processing and make available such information to the public.

What is Biosafety Clearing House (BCH),why is it important and who should access or use it ?
The Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH) is a mechanism set up by the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to facilitate the exchange of information on Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) and assist the Parties to better comply with their obligations under the Protocol.

BCH,being a repository of up-to-date information on Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) and biosafety, all interested users can freely search and retrieve information through the BCH website. 

Some examples of specific uses 
of BCH include among others: scientists, general public, researchers, government stakeholders and academia.

It can be used to assist in making informed decisions by governments 
and risk assessors while evaluating the import or release of LMOs in their countries.

The BCH can facilitate scientific and technical cooperation by exchange 
of information requirements for LMOs in various countries such as summaries of risk assessment, capacity building opportunities, scientific databases.
The technology developers can learn from information requirment and decision summaries to plan safety requirment and decision summaries to plan safety assessment of LMOs being developed by them.






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