Action Plan for the Caribbean Countries

Current Situation Lack of the technical expertise required in the identification and documentation of LMOs Lack of legislative support for monitoring and enforcement Lack of trained personnel in the area Lack of public awareness Lack of public participation Lack of the required tools to conduct the necessary investigation

ACTION PLAN Technical expertise Training and capacity building for personnel in the identification and documentation of LMOs Assistance in the identification of the entire BIOTECHNOLOGY process Assistance in building and strengthening of negotiation ability Strengthening of the inspection and monitoring of imports and exports of products Modernisation and strengthening of the legislative framework

ACTION PLAN (contd) PCR (Poly Chain Reaction) Instrument for identification of LMOs (laboratory facilities and trained personnel) Legislative strengthening Assistance in enforcement Infrastructure Human resource development Improvement in the communication channels between agencies

ACTION PLAN (contd) Implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on BIOSAFETY (since the main focus of this protocol is the transboundary movement of LMOs) More awareness and engagement of the public on the issues as it relates to the subject area.

The importance of the Biosafety Protocol must be stressed for developing countries The CARICOM Countries are waiting for guidance on the entire issue of GMOs and LMOs from CARICOM CARICOM COUNTRIES need to acquire the tools and the facilities required to deal with modern Biotechnology