Last Tuesday (September 12), the Ministry of the Environment (Minepded) and the University of Buea officially signed a partnership agreement to enhance biotechnology training in Cameroon. 

"This agreement will enable the University of Buea to support Minepded in the implementation of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, as part of the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity," explains Ngomo Horace Manga, rector of the University of Buea.  

The Cartagena Protocol was signed on January 29, 2000, as part of the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted in Rio in 1992. As the first international environmental agreement on genetically modified organisms, it aims to prevent biotechnological risks. 

Under the September 12 agreement, the University of Buea will train young Cameroonians in biotechnology, and also enhance the capacity of Minepded staff in this field, thanks in particular to the laboratory equipment donated by the ministry. 

The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the launch of the second phase of the Biosafety project in Cameroon. This project aims to institutionalize a national framework for the monitoring and management of living modified organisms and invasive alien species (such as water hyacinth). The second phase is scheduled to last 36 months and will be implemented in collaboration with various national sectors, scientific institutions, NGOs, and civil society organizations, according to the Minepded.

P.N.N