§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will make a statement on the achievement of the meeting, referred to in his answer of 8 November 1995,Official Report, column 995, of the convention on biological diversity in Jakarta, 6 to 17 November in regard to the transfer of living modified organisms between countries. [1631]
§ Mr. ClappisonThe second conference of the parties to the convention on biological diversity, held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 6 to 17 November 1995, decided to set in hand the development of a biosafety protocol which will specifically focus on the transboundary movement of living modified organisms. The conference also recognised the importance of the United Nations environment programme international technical guidelines 121W on safety in biotechnology as a possible interim measure during the development of the protocol and as a complement to it after its completion.
Other important decisions included the acknowledgement of the importance of parties establishing national strategies and in-situ conservation measures, the establishment of a three-year scientific work programme on coastal and marine ecosystems, the establishment of a pilot phase of the clearing house mechanism to facilitate the sharing of information and the choice of Montreal as the location for the biodiversity convention secretariat.
As last year, it was not possible to reach agreement on voting provisions on financial issues. These will be considered again at the third conference of the parties to be held in November 1996.