Welcome to the Belgian Biosafety Clearing-House
The Belgian Biosafety Clearing-House (BBCH) is the Belgian node of the Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH) established under Article 20 of the Cartagena Protocol, in order to facilitate the exchange of scientific, technical, environmental and legal information on LMOs and to assist Parties to implement the Protocol.
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), aims at the protection of biodiversity from potential risks posed by "living modified organisms" (LMOs, often also called "genetically modified organisms").
The CBD has three main objectives: the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of the components of biological diversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The Cartagena Protocol relates to the first of these main objectives.
This website is hosted and managed by the Service Biosafety and Biotechnology (SBB) of Sciensano. More information about biosafety in Belgium can be found on our other website, the Belgian Biosafety Server.