Speaking last Thursday September 8 in Yaounde at the signing of a Memorandum Of Understanding, MOU, between his ministry and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, MINADER for the joint implementation of a biosafety project entitled “The Development and Institution of a National Monitoring and Control System or Framework for Living Modified Organisms and Invasive Species,” the minister said there was urgent need for government services to collaborate in guarding against such risks. Though biotechnology, he admitted, offers great opportunities for growth and development, the introduction into the country of genetically modified material and their products must be strictly regulated. The MOU was signed for MINEP by Minister Pierre Helé, and for MINADER by Eko’o Akouafane Jean Claude, the Secretary General in the ministry.
Explaining the rationale of the FCFA 5.2 billion four-year project, the Secretary General in MINEP, Akwa Patrick Kum Bong, said it seeks to reverse the wanton destruction of local genetic material by raising awareness among stakeholders on the conservation and controlled use of these material. Its outcomes include the development of a policy and implementation framework for the management of Living Modified Organisms, LMOs and strengthening the capacities of government services and agencies in mitigating the risks.
Funded jointly by the Global Environment Facility, GEF, the government of Cameroon and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, IUCN, the project began in April this year and ends in March 2015. The oversight authority is the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP. It marks the operational phase of Cameroon’s signature of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
