On March 31, in the conference hall of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic, an interim meeting of the Interdepartmental Working Group of the FAO/GEF project was held: “Implementation of the National Biosafety Mechanism in the Kyrgyz Republic in accordance with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety”.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the progress, achievements and problems faced by the project participants, as well as to develop regulatory legal acts that will ensure the implementation of the law “ On biological safety in the Kyrgyz Republic ” .
Agenda items:
1. Upcoming tasks for the implementation of the Law of the Kyrgyz Republic "On Biosafety", in terms of the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
2. Interim reports on the implementation of the project tasks from the teams of the KFC and the Center for Standardization and Metrology
3. Updating the List of members of the Interdepartmental Working Group
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, Environmental and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic Mirslav Amankulov, project curator and chairman of the Supervisory Committee said: “As you know, the Law “On Biosafety in the Kyrgyz Republic” was recently adopted (January 25, 2025). This law is a framework and covers all aspects of biological safety in Kyrgyzstan, including the regulation of genetically modified organisms.
Head of the Department of Bioresources of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of the Kyrgyz Republic Kumar Mambetaliev noted that: “ A lot of works has been done in a short time, but despite this, the country still lags behind the world community in some aspects. He emphasized that the Law "On Biological Safety in the Kyrgyz Republic" is an important step for the Kyrgyz Republic in ensuring biological, environmental safety and preserving the health of citizens of the republic. This law opens up new opportunities for improving the biosafety system and strengthening national policy in the field of protecting human health, ecosystems and biodiversity. He also noted that for the successful implementation of this law, it is necessary to develop and implement regulatory legal acts that will regulate the procedure for action in the field of biosafety and control the use of living modified organisms (LMO) and other biotechnologies.
Namazbek Abdykerimov - specialist in the detection and identification of living modified organisms (LMOs) presented current methods and approaches used to accurately detect and identify LMOs. He highlighted the main techniques and technologies that allow for effective tracking of the use of genetically modified organisms in agriculture, industry and other sectors.
Aibek Musayev - deputy director of Kyrgyzstandart under the Ministry of Ecology and Development noted that within the framework of the agreement with FAO, a set of measures was developed to create effective biosafety mechanisms in Kyrgyzstan that meet the requirements of the Cartagena Protocol. He emphasized that the project is aimed at eliminating three main barriers: the lack of an agreed regulatory framework, limited institutional and human resources, and a lack of information and understanding of the economic, legal and social consequences of using GMOs.
Director of the branch of the Regional Environmental Centre for Central Asia (CAREC) in KG, Kuban Matraimov, briefly informed the participants about the start of work on developing a website on the Cartagena Protocol in Kyrgyzstan, which will be an important tool for exchanging information between government agencies and other stakeholders.
On November 27, 2024, an Agreement was signed between FAO and the Branch of the Central Asian Regional Environmental Center in the Kyrgyz Republic, which aims to implement project activities to support the creation of an effective biosafety regulatory framework at the national level in accordance with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, as well as the development of technical capacity for the implementation and enforcement of the Protocol at the national level. To date, a Work plan for the project has been prepared and agreed upon, and a preliminary socio-economic analysis has been made in the Kyrgyz Republic on the management of GMOs/LMOs.
The branch of the Regional Environmental Center for Central Asia in the Kyrgyz Republic (CAREC KG) serves as the secretariat of the Interdepartmental Working Group on the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety according to the project document.
For information: The FAO/GEF project “Implementation of the National Biosafety Framework in the Kyrgyz Republic in line with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety” aims to improve the safety of biological technologies and their safe use in Kyrgyzstan, which is of great importance for protecting human health, the environment and agriculture in the country. The project started in 2023 and will continue until the end of 2026. CAREC CF started implementing this project in November 2024 and is the main executor together with UNOPS and the Center for Standardization and Metrology of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce of the Kyrgyz Republic.
Additional information:
Kuban Matraimov, Director of the CAREC CO in KR, kmatraimov@carececo.org