The Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture (MEIYSAC) held a review validation workshop with the National Commission on Research, Science, and Technology (NCRST) to discuss biosafety in Namibia and the greater Southern African region.
The aim of the gathering was to dissect the Biosafety Act No. 7 of 2006 and for the law to be passed to cabinet in the near future.
In Namibia, the Biosafety Act No. 7 of 2006 regulates the use of genetically modified organisms, also known as GMOs.
These are organisms, such as animals and plants, whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering.
While GMOs undergo risk assessments for environmental and human health safety, their long-term effects remain unknown.
South Africa, Namibia, Madagascar, and the DRC are collaborating to improve biosafety across the region.
According to the UN Environment Programme, Strengthening the Implementation of the National Biosafety Frameworks in Southern Africa started in May 2023 and is currently 62% complete.
The Executive Director of MEIYSAC stated in a speech read on his behalf the need to review the 20-year-old Biodiversity Act's policies.
"MEIYSAC recognises that biotechnology presents both opportunities for sustainable development as well as responsibility for safe and ethical use."
The Managing Director of the Regional Agricultural and Environmental Innovations-Africa is Doreen Mnyulwa.
"We hope that at the end of this review process the policy reform that you are looking toward, because you are not only reviewing the act, you are also looking at the policy. And I will talk about why, why it is important. It requires balance in science, trade realities, environmental protection, security considerations, and public trust."
The chairperson of the Biosafety Council, Martha Kandawa-Schulz, alluded to the fact that since the landscape of the technology has evolved and advances in gene editing and other emerging technologies or biotechnologies exist, new global commitments demand that Namibia's regulatory framework also evolve.
"When you have got the policy, what comes next is the act. And that Act was only approved 10 years later. So 99, 7 years later. From 99 to 2006, the Act was then passed. So it is always good to pass an Act, a law, but the problem starts when you start to implement that which you have passed."