Despite the pressing need for biosafety regulations, Zambia still does not have any framework in place. Not only have there been problems in building and implementing a national biosafety regulatory structure, Zambian scientists themselves have been slow to sensitize the authorities to the need for legislation. The situation is not helped by the general perception that 'there is no serious biotechnology in Zambia' and the lukewarm support for efforts to develop a national biosafety framework by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MENR) whose portfolio covers the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).