At its meeting held on 6 October 2013 in Montreal, the Bureau of COP-MOP 6 endorsed a proposal by the Executive Secretary to convene a “special session on the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety” during COP-MOP 7. The special session is intended to provide a platform for sharing views, experiences, and information on the challenges encountered, in the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol. In particular, the special session will allow Parties to share experience and exchange views on better ways of integrating biosafety into relevant national development plans, other relevant national policies and programmes, including the national biodiversity strategies and national plans (NBSAPs); and of mobilizing additional resources to advance the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol at the national level in line with the Strategic Plan for the Protocol 2011-2020, as urged by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol in paragraphs 2 (a) and 2 (b) of its decision BS-V/16.

To facilitate the discussions during the special session, the Executive Secretary will prepare a synthesis report on the experiences, challenges and the lessons learned in the integration of biosafety into relevant national plans and programmes, and the potential strategies identified for overcoming the challenges based on the outcomes of the online discussions and other sources of information (UNEP/CBD/BS/COP-MOP/7/7).

The expected main output of the special session will be a co-chairs summary of good practices and recommendations on how to improve the integration of biosafety into national development plans and programmes and the mobilization of the necessary resources to advance the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol. Delegations may wish to take into consideration relevant outcomes of the special session in their deliberations under the other agenda items.