The scientific and policy debate on the potential benefits and risks of biotechnologies remains polarized. As more genetically modified crops, insects, and fish are developed, the 2000 Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity provides a forum to monitor developments and address risk assessment and risk management …
This publication lists and briefly details the regulatory instruments comprising laws/acts/decrees/regulations/rules related to biosafety of products of biotechnology for agriculture and food existing in 39 countries of Asia and the Pacific. Besides, additional chapters have been included to introduce the readers to recent developments in agricultural biotechnology in the region, …
Your News story 'Sterile mosquitoes near take-off' (Nature 453, 435; 2008) discusses the likely release of genetically engineered mosquitoes to help contain dengue fever. It demonstrates just how close we are to a radically new set of strategies for managing a whole range of diseases and wildlife using genetically modified …
After a controversial entry into cotton, international corporations promoting Genetically Modified crops are trying to expand their reach into food. The promised benefits would appear compelling in an era of food shortages and low productivity, but the uncertainty about their wider impact on human health and the environment underscores the …
This publication highlights the importance of sustainable agriculture not only to preserve biodiversity, but also to ensure that will be able to feed the world, maintain agricultural livelihoods, and enhance human well being into the 21st century and beyond. At the same time, it seeks to highlight the importance of …
Civil society organisations working on the food security issues here have expressed concern over what they describe as lack of public participation in policy-making on bio-safety in India in the run-up to the international conference of the signatories to the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety to be held in Bonn, Germany, …
as the investigation into the alleged theft of Jatropha carcus germplasm nears completion, Sunil Puri, the prime accused in the case, who had joined the uk- based d 1 Oils as a technical director in Coimbatore, has gone on leave. Puri was formerly heading the forest department of the Indira …
The issue of living modified organisms (lmos) figured prominently at a recent meeting of the countries signatory to the Cartagena Protocol for Biosafety. The meeting took 18 decisions on requirements for handling, transport and identification of lmos during trans-boundary movements. Risk assessment and liability were among other concerns addressed. But …
for the first time, regulators of genetically modified (gm) crops in India organised a workshop with state government officials to account for the requirements of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The workshop, held on February 27-28 in New Delhi, deliberated over the modifications required in the rules of handling gm …
This article examines the divergent political responses to unplanned exposure to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the Global South. Although scientific and domestic political considerations have some relevance to explaining different positions among developing countries, trade considerations appear to be a principal driver of GMO policy. This consideration is strikingly …
Though there is a great deal of variability in the expected performance of Bt cotton depending on the environment, the regulation and marketing of the hybrids reflects a uniformity of approach that is inexplicable. Academic studies continue to talk of the importance of studying toxicity and monitoring resistance build-up even …
a debate over documentation caused a deadlock at the recently held annual meeting of parties to the Cartagena Protocol of Biosafety (cpb), which regulates the cross-border transfer of Living Modified Organisms (lmos). Parties to the cpb met during the second conference of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (cop …
the Union government has announced its action plan for the biotechnology sector but it reads more like a wish list prepared by an industry pressure group. The draft National Biotechnology Development Strategy seeks to propel the current us$750 million biotech industry to a us $5-billion one, employing about one million …
Brazil's parliament is debating a wide-ranging bioethics bill, covering subjects from human cloning to genetically modified (gm) crops. The new legislation proposes the creation of a National Council of Biosafety. It will be directly linked to the President's office, and remain responsible for formulating and implementing the country's national biosafety …
pro-farmer groups have questioned the credibility of a study stating that the acreage under transgenic crops is increasing at a much faster rate in developing countries than the industrialised nations. As per the groups, the study drew such conclusions as it has been conducted by the us-based International Services for …
an unprecedented legal battle is being fought in Pakistan's Lahore High Court. Responding to a petition filed by two food rights groups against the import of genetically modified (gm) soyabean from the us, the Pakistan government has declared that the transgenic variety is safe in terms of its impact on …
biopiracy by commercial enterprises in recent years has robbed the indigenous Venezuelan communities in the Amazonian forests of their traditional medicinal resources. To counter this imminent threat faced by these communities, the Venezuelan authorities have devised a unique scheme. Titled the BioZulua project, the scheme will document data about medicinal …
the Indian government recently decided to ratify the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (cpb). But, the Union cabinet's much-delayed move has been dubbed by environmentalists as a mere "technical formality'. Critics feel that the protocol would do little to break the grip of powerful international trade regimes that are overriding environmental …
The Nepalese government has recently signed the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which is an international framework that has been set up to regulate the trade in genetically modified (GM) products. The protocol among other provisions stipulates that all GM food products must provide adequate information regarding its ingredients (see: Down …
The Miami Group The US, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, and Uruguay. Coalition of agricultural commodity-exporting countries interested in protecting free trade in biotech products. While the US, Argentina, and Canada are the three leading genetically modified organism (GMO)-exporting countries in the world, Chile and Uruguay have been supportive of US …
SCOPE: Living modified organisms (LMOs) intended for introduction into the environment and LMOs for food, feed or processing (LMO-FFPs) are covered by the protocol. Pharmaceuticals are subject to the pre-existing relevant agreements. ADVANCE INFORMED AGREEMENT (AIA): All LMOs intended for "intentional introduction into the environment' shall be subject to AIA …
