US embassy cable - 05BRATISLAVA34

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 000034 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAGR, EAID, SENV, TBIO 
SUBJECT:  ACCESS TO GENETIC RESOURCES DEMARCHE 
 
REF: STATE 269625 
 
1.  Econoff delivered questions, per reftel, to the 
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) point of contact in 
Slovakia, Dr. Igor Ferencik of the Ministry of Environment 
(MOE).  Ferencik shared the questions with officials from 
the MOE and the Ministry Agriculture (MOA), and they 
returned the following responses. 
 
2.  According to Slovak Act Number 543/2002, regional 
authorities must give permission to collect biological 
resources in protected areas or for non-CITES (Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species) protected 
species.  In all other cases, collection is controlled by 
the MOA under the auspices of Slovak Act Number 215/2001. 
 
3.  The Central Control and Testing Institute under the 
control of the MOA has the responsibility to issue permits 
for movement or export of biological specimens. 
 
4.  The MOE is responsible for mutually agreed terms (MAT) 
and prior informed consent (PIC) procedures but has not 
currently assigned any individual, department, or sub- 
department the responsibility of employing MAT or PIC and 
does not consider this topic a priority. 
 
5.  Ferencik expressed a personal interest in these topics 
and stated that he has unsuccessfully called attention to 
them at senior levels in the MOE.  Nevertheless, he and his 
colleagues still could not readily find answers to the 
majority of the questions in the reftel. 
 
THAYER 
 
 
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