Defence
The Cartagena Protocol is related to:
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Answer: Option D — Biosafety
Detailed Solution
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement that aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) produced by modern biotechnology, such as genetically modified (GM) seeds and crops, that may have harmful effects on biodiversity and human health.
The Protocol is named after Cartagena, a city in Colombia, where negotiations were held in 1999. It was finally adopted on 29 January 2000 in Montreal, Canada, and came into force on 11 September 2003. India is a party to the Protocol; it signed in 2001 and ratified it in 2003.
Key features of the Cartagena Protocol:
It is based on the precautionary approach, which means that a country may decide not to import an LMO if there is not enough scientific certainty about its safety.
It establishes an Advance Informed Agreement (AIA) procedure, so that an importing country receives full information and gives its consent before LMOs meant for release into the environment, such as seeds, are imported for the first time.
It requires that shipments of LMOs be clearly identified and documented.
It set up a Biosafety Clearing-House to share information about LMOs.
A supplementary agreement, the Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress (2010), deals with responsibility and compensation for damage caused by LMOs.
In India, GM crops are regulated by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Bt cotton is the only GM crop approved for commercial cultivation in India (approved in 2002). GM mustard (DMH-11) received environmental release approval in 2022.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Ozone layer protection is covered by the Vienna Convention (1985) and the Montreal Protocol (1987).
- ✗Wetland conservation is covered by the Ramsar Convention (1971).
- ✗Desertification is covered by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD, 1994).
Quick tip
Remember: Cartagena Protocol (2000) = biosafety of LMOs under the CBD; Nagoya Protocol (2010) = access and benefit-sharing; India's GM regulator = GEAC.
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Environmental Conventions, Laws & Organisations — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Environmental Conventions, Laws & Organisations, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers international environmental agreements, such as the Montreal Protocol, the Kyoto Protocol, the Paris Agreement, the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Biological Diversity, Indian environmental laws, and environmental organisations and movements such as the Chipko movement. Questions usually ask what an agreement deals with (the Montreal Protocol protects the ozone layer, and the Ramsar Convention protects wetlands), when India passed an environmental law (such as the Environment Protection Act 1986), and who led a movement (Sunderlal Bahuguna is associated with the Chipko movement). Climate summit outcomes change every year, so check current affairs. Practise the environmental conventions and laws questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.