Welcome to Swaziland’s Biosafety Clearing House
The Swaziland Biosafety Clearing House (SW-BCH) is Swaziland’s node of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH) established under Article 20 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) which in turn is part of the Clearing House Mechanism (CHM) established by Article 18(3) of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Article 18(3) of the CBD states:
“The Conference of the Parties, at its first meeting, shall determine how to establish a clearing-house mechanism to promote and facilitate technical and scientific cooperation”.
In line with the purpose of the Clearing House, the objectives of the BCH are:
i. To facilitate exchange and experience with Living Modified Organisms (LMOs),
ii. To assist Parties to implement the Protocol taking into account the special need s of developing countries with particular emphasis on Least Developed Countries, Small Island states, countries with economies in transition and centres of origin and genetic diversity; and
The BCH is intended to function as an information portal on information required for implementation of the CPB as well as general information relevant to support implementation.
The SW-BCH has been established as Swaziland’s node to provide information relevant for implementation of the CPB in Swaziland, applications and decisions made under the Swaziland’s Biosafety Act, progress on implementation of the CPB in Swaziland as well as other relevant information.