Biosecurity risk mapping and gap analysis in South East Asia

Abstract Introduction In today’s globalized world where travel is commonplace, a threat in one region can easily spread throughout the whole world. It is, therefore, essential for multi-disciplinary risk assessment, risk mitigation, and collaborative strategies to take place among various stakeholders to mitigate this. Any strategic plan to deal with biosecurity, therefore, needs to be a complete loop, top to bottom and bottom to top. This paper describes the results of Project 62, which involved mapping and biosecurity risk assessment in South East Asia. Materials and methods The mapping and biosecurity risk assessment activities for the participating partner countries was carried out in two phases. The first phase involved risk assessment by six partner-country bio-experts for their own countries and the second phase involved conducting a joint Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis and risk assessment for the South East Asian region as whole, together with international bio-experts at a workshop. Results and discussion The following key recommendations of the project show that biosecurity needs to be addressed through stakeholder engagement at multiple levels starting from the top echelons of the government to the worker who needs to recognize and understand the threats they might face: 1. Systematic analysis of existing information from BWC ISU Article 10, IHR capacities, JEE, UN Security Council Resolution 1540 Action Plan, EU CBRN NAP, and other relevant sources to develop a common understanding of the definition of biosecurity for all stakeholders in the region. 2. Creation of programs for awareness building in biosecurity, not limiting them to laboratory biosecurity but using an all-inclusive approach to include border biosecurity, pandemic response, etc. 3. Creation of a country-specific list of high-risk biological materials. 4. Compulsory standardized biosecurity training, including responsible conduct in biosecurity research. 5. Framework for one-health and security interface addressing biosecurity threats. 6. Framework for ensuring information security in relation to biosecurity. 7. Involvement of local/regional experts in the implementation of EU-CBRN CoE projects.