The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,
Recalling
decision BS-I/9, in which it requested Parties to submit their reports on a general frequency of every four years from the date of entry into force of the Protocol, and also
recalling decisions
BS-V/14,
BS-VI/14 and
BS-VI/15,
Welcoming the comments on the improvement of the reporting format received from Parties during the second national reporting process,
Also welcoming the draft third national reporting format proposed by the Secretariat and recognizing the intended role of the information therein contained in facilitating the conduct of both the mid-term review of the implementation of the Strategic Plan for the Cartagena Protocol as well as the third assessment and review of the Protocol,
Also welcoming the recommendations of the Compliance Committee on the draft third national reporting format,
Taking into consideration the results of the “Survey to gather information corresponding to indicators in the Strategic Plan”,
1.Requests the Executive Secretary to make the following changes to the draft third national reporting format, annexed to document
UNEP/CBD/BS/COP-MOP/7/12 and to make the revised format available online through the Biosafety Clearing-House:
(a)Introduce, where possible, the option to reconfirm the same text submitted in previous national reports to the same question;
(b)Introduce, where possible, the possibility to add explanatory text to closed-text question (e.g. Yes/No);
(c)Include the UNEP-GEF BCH III project in the list of options provided in question 147;
(d)Delete question 97;
2.Requests Parties to use the revised format for the preparation of their third national report or, in the case of Parties submitting their national report for the first time, to use it for their first national report on the implementation of their obligations under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety;
3.Invites Parties to prepare their reports through a consultative process involving all relevant stakeholders, as appropriate;
4.Encourages Parties to respond to all questions in the reporting format in order to facilitate the monitoring of progress towards the implementation of the objectives identified in the Strategic Plan and also contribute to the third assessment and review of the Cartagena Protocol;
5.Requests Parties to submit to the Secretariat their third national report on the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety:
(a)In an official language of the United Nations;
(b)Twelve months prior to the eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, which will consider the report;
(c)Through the Biosafety Clearing-House, or in the format that will be made available by the Secretariat for this purpose, duly signed by the national focal point;
