GOVERNMENTS TO FINALIZE
AND ADOPT BIOSAFETY PROTOCOL
NAIROBI/MONTREAL, 10 February 1999 - Some 170 governments are meeting
in Cartagena, Colombia from 15 to 23 February to finalize and adopt a
legally-binding agreement on reducing any potential risks resulting
from the transboundary movement of living modified organisms (LMOs).
Created through modern biotechnology techniques, LMOs promise
enormous benefits for agriculture, medicine, and other fields. At the
same time, many people are concerned about the possible risks to
biological diversity and human health of introducing LMOs into the
environment.
"We need a widely accepted protocol that protects the
environment, strengthens the capacity of developing countries to
ensure biosafety, complements existing national regulations, and
promotes public confidence in biotechnology and the benefits it can
offer," said Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of UNEP, the United
Nations Environment Programme. UNEP provides the Montreal-based
secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity, under which
the biosafety protocol talks are taking place.
The delegates face an ambitious agenda in Cartagena, as many
core issues remain unresolved. One key point is whether the protocol
will address only LMOs themselves or also processed products
containing dead modified organisms or non-living LMO components,
such as certain vaccines, drugs, processed foods, and food additives.
Also on the agenda is how to handle liability, a particularly
difficult issue in the international context.
"I am convinced that the world community - including the
industry and trade sector - will benefit greatly in the long term
from working together on biosafety within the framework of a legal
instrument," said Veit Koester of Denmark, chairman of the talks.
"Already the negotiating process itself has inspired many developing
countries for the first time to start establishing their own domestic
legal regimes on biosafety."
The biosafety talks reflect growing public concerns about the
potential risks posed by living modified organisms. Many countries
with modern biotechnology industries do have domestic legislation.
However, there are no binding international agreements covering LMOs
that cross national borders because of trade or accidental releases.
Another concern is that many developing countries lack the
technical, financial, and institutional means to address biosafety.
They need greater capacity for assessing and managing risks,
establishing adequate information systems, and developing expert
human resources in biotechnology.
Since the early 1970s, genetic engineering - the ability to
transfer genetic material in new ways and to radically alter the
intricate genetic structure of individual living cells - has enabled
scientists to genetically modify plants, animals, and
micro-organisms. Traditional methods such as breeding selection and
cross-fertilization are low-tech and slower paced.
Modern methods such as genetic engineering techniques and
recombinant DNA technology, on the other hand, can introduce a
greater diversity of genes into organisms almost instantly. They also
make it possible for the first time to transfer genes from one type
of organism to another - for example, to insert genes from a
bacterium into a tomato to create a transgenic plant.
Researchers are experimenting with micro-organisms, insects,
fish, and animals to find ways of altering their growth
characteristics or of making them produce new substances. This has
led to remarkable advances in agriculture, medicine, and other
fields. The products of biotechnology can be used to improve the
resistance of plants to pests and environmental pressures and to
increase their commercial value. Other results include new medical
treatments and vaccines and new industrial products.
Modern biotechnology has great potential for human well-being if
developed and used with adequate safety measures for the environment
and human health. This is a very new field, however, and much about
the interaction of LMOs with various ecosystems is not yet known. It
is therefore vital that the introduction of genetically modified
organisms does not proceed faster than advances in scientific
understanding.
Some of the concerns about the new technologies include
unintended changes in the competitiveness, virulence, or other
characteristics of the target species; the possibility of adverse
impacts on non-target species and ecosystems; the potential for
weediness in genetically modified crops (i.e. a plant becomes too
resistant and invasive, perhaps by transferring its genes to wild
relatives); and the stability of inserted genes (i.e. the
possibilities that a gene will lose its effectiveness or will be
re-transferred to another host).
The protocol is to be negotiated and finalized during the week
of 14 - 19 February by the sixth session of the Open-ended Ad hoc
Working Group on Biosafety (BSWG-6). The BSWG is a subsidiary body of
the Conference of the Parties (COP), which is the Convention's
ultimate authority. A Special Session of the COP is to adopt the
protocol on 22 - 23 February. The protocol will then be opened for
signature at United Nations headquarters in New York and will enter
into force after an agreed number of countries have completed the
next step of ratifying it.
The Convention on Biological Diversity was signed at the 1992
Rio Earth Summit and now has 174 Parties. Its objectives are "the
conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its
components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising
out of the utilization of genetic resources." The Convention is thus
the first global, comprehensive agreement to address all aspects of
biodiversity: genetic resources, species, and ecosystems.
Note to journalists: For more information about accreditation and
telephone interviews before and during the meeting, please contact
Michael Williams in Geneva at (41-22) 917 8242/244/111, fax (41-22)
797 3464, e-mail mwilliams@unep.ch. (Please note that Michael
Williams can be reached on this email address during the meeting).
Official documents are available via www.biodiv.org at
www.biodiv.org/biosafe/BIOSAFE6.HTML
UNEP News Release 1999/15
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