The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Government of India, is implementing a GEF/World Bank funded project on Capacity Building on Biosafety in context of Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The project covers the assessment, management and long term monitoring and documentation of the risks to the sustainable use of biodiversity and to human health potentially posed by the introduction of Living Modified Organisms (LMOs).

The major objectives of the project are to improve capacity across ministries and among key stakeholders to analyse, inform, and make decisions to reduce potential risks related to LMOs, increase benefits to society, and protect biodiversity. Specifically, the project will develop national capacities in biosafety required to:

• Strengthen the legislative framework and operational mechanisms for biosafety management in India
• Enhance capacity for risk assessment and monitoring
• Establish the biosafety database system and Biosafety Clearing House Mechanism
• Support centers of excellence and a network for research, risk assessment and monitoring
• Establish the Project Coordination and Monitoring Unit (PCMU).