The objective of this study is to strengthen Morocco's capacity to develop concrete measures to promote the integrated implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This approach aims in particular to facilitate the integration of biosecurity into national biodiversity, its strategies and action plans (NBSAP) and other sectoral and cross-sectoral policies, plans and strategies to strengthen national mechanisms for intersectoral coordination. This approach will be presented in the form of an action plan for the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety for Morocco.

This study made it possible to carry out:

• Diagnosis of the current situation in the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety:
  • Establishment of an inventory on the prevention of biotechnological risks in Morocco,
  • Identification of Morocco's strategic priorities in terms of the use of biotechnology.

• Action plan for the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol by Morocco.

The national action plan for the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol, which is the subject of this study, will focus on the following four strategic areas:

Strategic axis I: Institutional and administrative organization

This axis includes the necessary actions to be carried out for the establishment of an institutional and administrative organization of the various entities involved in biosecurity at the national level.

Strategic axis II: Legislative and regulatory framework

This axis consists in developing actions allowing the redefinition of the legislative and regulatory framework related to LMOs. This redefinition is necessary to ensure an adequate level of protection in the field of transfer, handling and use of LMOs, which may have potentially harmful effects on human health, the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity and on the environment in general.

Strategic axis III: Communication/awareness raising

This strategic focus consists in establishing a communication/awareness-raising system that will allow the participation of civil society and other stakeholders in the decision-making process on biosafety issues. This system should also ensure that public awareness includes access to information on LMOs that can be imported, under Article 23 of the Cartagena Protocol.

Strategic axis IV: Capacity building and other supporting measures

In the context of the Cartagena Protocol, capacity building is described as the process of creating, or strengthening, or maintaining the capacities necessary to ensure the safe transfer, handling, and use of LMOs resulting from modern biotechnology. This includes support measures at various levels:

• Organizational level (including institutional structures, processes and procedures and infrastructures such as facilities, equipment and materials, networks and inter-institutional partnerships, and human resources);
• Systemic level (including enabling legal and administrative frameworks, governance systems, external partnerships, and externalities that affect the effectiveness and sustainability of capacity building efforts);
• Individual level (including the knowledge, skills and competencies of individuals).