Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2017-09-12

Draft Bill on Bio-safety

- The sustainability of bio-diversity is affected due to the natural causes and the various human activities. It is an accepted fact that the release of genetically modified organisms created through the development of bio-technology to the environment without safety measures is also a kind of human activity which is a threat to bio-diversity. Adopting safety measures to minimize the imminent damage caused to the bio-diversity in Sri Lanka is a timely need.

As Sri Lanka is a signatory to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety the necessary legislative provision have to be provided by Sri Lanka for the use of the genetically modified organisms, created using bio-technology, for the promotion, marketing, utilizing in commercial activities, transport, import, export, re-export, transfer, disposal and release in a manner not causing a risk or causing a minimum risk for the human health and the bio-diversity. As such, the proposal made by H.E. the President Maithripala Sirisena, in his capacity as the Minister of Mahaweli Development and Environment, to introduce a new draft Bill on Bio-safety, was approved by the Cabinet.