Washington, DC
November 27, 2007
The World Bank Board of
Executive Directors endorsed on November 13, 2007, a $9.3
million “West Africa Regional Biosafety Project” that will help
eight countries – Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea
Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo – to establish and
implement a shared biosafety regulatory framework by putting in
place necessary environmental and social safeguards, thereby
enabling them to meet their obligations under the Cartagena
Protocol on Biosafety (CPB).
"This is a key milestone that will have a dramatic impact for
over 10 million households in the region who rely on farming for
their livelihoods," said Global Environment Facility CEO and
Chairperson Monique Barbut. "The program will contribute to the
region's development while protecting biological diversity and
human health. The money will also help countries meet recognized
international standards for assessing risk associated with
genetically modified organisms."
The project is financed by a US$5.4 million grant from the
Global Environment Facility (GEF), and a $3.9 million credit
from the International Development Association (IDA), the World
Bank Group’s concessional lending window. It is part of a larger
program that includes other donors, including France and the
European Commission.
“We are delighted that the project has been endorsed,” said
Soumaila Cisse, President of the WAEMU Commission that is
implementing the project. “A harmonized regional biosafety
framework will not only benefit individual countries to comply
with the Convention on Biological Diversity but also build
critical biosafety capacity across the entire WAEMU region.”
The Program’s three components include:
- Evaluating existing tools
and guidelines used in WAEMU member states for risk
assessment and management, and consolidating them to develop
regional common approaches that meet recognized
international standards in risk assessment of GMOs/LMOs. A
national reference laboratory, with a mandate for regional
support, will be established in Burkina Faso (a regional
public good that will be financed by the IDA credit)
- Strengthening
institutional capacity for preparing regional laws and
regulations on biosafety, and creating an institutional
framework to accompany the dissemination and implementation
of the regional biosafety framework in WAEMU countries
- Providing support to WAEMU
countries that have ratified the Cartagena Protocol on
Biosafety (CPB); strengthening capacities of stakeholders
such as producer organizations about national and regional
regulations and their implications for the environment and
socio-economic development and raising public awareness
about the importance of biosafety at the country and
regional levels.
“The project preparation phase was
marked by a consultative process,” said Jean-Christophe Carret,
project team leader and senior natural resource economist
working in the World Bank’s Africa Region. “We sought and
received inputs from a wide range of stakeholders, including
civil society thereby helping us to develop a robust development
program with social and environmental safeguards.”
Under the terms of the Cartagena Protocol, the GEF is the
financial mechanism that directs money toward national biosafety
frameworks. The GEF also promotes information sharing and
collaboration, especially at the regional and sub-regional
level. |
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