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What happens with entry into force?

Upon entry into force, a number of provisions of the Protocol will take effect immediately including the following:

1. Countries shipping LMOs for intentional introduction into the environment will have to give prior notification to the importing country that is a party to the Protocol, under what is known as the advance informed agreement (AIA) procedure, and provide sufficient information for the first shipment to enable them to make informed decisions. Those shipments will have to be identified in accompanying documentation as LMOs with specification of the LMO identity and characteristics and with a declaration that “the movement is in conformity with the requirements of the Protocol”.
2. Likewise, shipments of LMO commodities intended for direct use for food, feed or processing will have to be identified in accompanying documentation as "may contain" LMOs and as “not intended for intentional introduction into the environment”. (no Advance Informed Agreement applicable in this case, however this category falls under article 11 of the Protocol)
3. Parties will be required to use the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH) ( a centralized data base, accessible by all the Parties, to facilitate the exchange of the scientific, technical, environmental and legal information and experience with LMO’s) to fulfill a number of obligations. Specific information that must be made available through the BCH includes: national biosafety laws; risk assessment summaries; and final decisions by importing Parties with supporting reasons.
4. Any Party that approves for domestic use and marketing LMOs intended for direct use as food, feed or processing that may be exported will be required to communicate this decision and details about the LMO to the world community via the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH). (see www.biodiv.org)

Examples of other requirements to be fulfilled by Parties when the Protocol enters into force:

• Importing Parties must make a decision on the import of LMOs for intentional release into the environment on the basis of a scientifically-sound risk assessment and communicate the decision to the notifier and the BCH within a period not exceeding 270 days. In cases where scientific certainty is lacking due to insufficient relevant scientific information and knowledge with regard to the potential adverse effects of an LMO on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in the Party of import, Parties may take a decision in order to avoid or minimize such potential adverse effects.
• Parties will have an obligation to inform affected States and take other appropriate action if they discover an unintentional movement of LMOs across borders.
• If an illegal shipment of LMOs occurs, the affected Party may request the Party of origin of the shipment to repatriate or destroy the LMO at its own expense.
• Parties to the Protocol will cooperate to help developing countries build human resources and institutions to make informed decisions about LMOs.

Following the entry into force of the Protocol, the decision-making body of the Protocol, called the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol (COP-MOP), will manage and keep under review its development and implementation, replacing the Intergovernmental Committee for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (ICCP), which was created to prepare for the Protocol’s entry into force.

The first Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, to be held in the first quarter of 2004, will include all States and regional economic integration organizations that have ratified the Protocol at least 90 days prior to the meeting. States that have ratified the Protocol less than 90 days prior to the meeting may attend, but with an observer status.