Regional Biosafety Communications

1. The proposed project is one of two projects, the second one being a GEF full sized project(FSP) called 'Latin America: Multi-country Capacity-building for Compliance with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru)'. Both projects are being developed to address the biosafety knowledge and capacity gap in the region and will be executed by the Colombia-based International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT). This execution will take place in collaboration with participating countries and communication experts in the region. 2. The objective of the proposed 'Latin America: Communication and Public Awareness Capacity-Building for Compliance with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety' project is to strengthen communication and public awareness capacity on biosafety in Latin America in general and in Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica and Peru in specific. The objective will be achieved through the implementation of a robust communication plan along with a knowledge management plan and a regional conference. The global environment benefit that the proposed project intervention generates is to raise Biosafety awareness among stakeholders in some of the most biodiverse countries in the world, thus contributing to the conservation of biological diversity. The project will disseminate innovative approaches and tools for risk assessment, databases for knowledge-sharing on biosafety, and science-based materials for training developed by the FSP throughout the region.