Who We Are

The Bangladesh Biosafety Clearing House (BCHBD) is the national information hub dedicated to ensuring the safe transfer, handling, and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Established following Bangladesh's ratification of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in 2004, we serve as the primary mechanism for implementing the protocol's provisions at the national level.

Our core mission is to promote biosafety by facilitating the exchange of scientific, technical, environmental, and legal information. We play a crucial role in supporting the Government of Bangladesh and various stakeholders in making informed decisions regarding biotechnology and its products.

We function as a central online portal, providing transparent access to:

• Bangladesh's national laws, regulations, and guidelines on biosafety.

• Decisions made on the importation, commercial release, and field trials of LMOs.

• Risk assessments and other relevant scientific data.

• Information on national biosafety committees and their activities.

As the official "one-stop-shop" for biosafety in the country, the BCHBD is committed to building a strong national biosafety framework and fostering a responsible approach to modern biotechnology for sustainable development.

Main Purpose:

The NBF serves as a foundation for establishing an administrative system and a regulatory framework. Its primary goal is to ensure an adequate level of protection for human health and the environment from the potential risks associated with the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) that result from modern biotechnology.

Specific Purposes:

• To outline the administrative system for handling GMOs, with a focus on their safe transfer, handling, and use.

• To provide an overview of current laws related to biosafety and propose a new regulatory regime.

• To assess the current state of biotechnology and biosafety in the country and identify what actions are needed to strengthen research and development capacity while ensuring biosafety.

  Biosafety Regulatory System

  Government of Bangladesh has been working towards establishing biosafety regime with the development of National Biosafety Framework 2006; Biosafety Guidelines of Bangladesh 2008 and enactment of Bangladesh Biosafety Rules 2012. To administer biosafety at various levels, the regulatory committees: the National Committee on Biosafety (NCB), Biosafety Core Committee (BCC) and Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) has already been institutionalized. Biosafety Committees