Biotechnology Web Resource Guide and links

By: Chris Emerson, for ITDG

January 2000

Biosafety Protocol

The economics of Biosafety: Implications for Biotechnology in developing countries Mywish K. MAREDIA Michigan State University, Dept. of Agricultural Economics Staff Paper 98-5 April 1998 15 pages

There is a growing body of literature on the safe use of biotechnology and the need for an international biosafety protocol and national regulations to facilitate the safe development and transfer of biotechnology. Most of these studies, however, address the issue of biosafety from a scientific, legal, environmental and organisational perspective. The purpose of this paper is to add to this discussion by providing an economic perspective on regulating products of agricultural biotechnology, with special emphasis on implications for developing countries who are under increasing pressure to put a biosafety framework in place. The paper provides a brief discussion on the economic rationale for biosafety regulations, explains the economic benefits and costs of biosafety, and discusses the appropriate form of biosafety policy and the effects of regulation on resource allocation. The benefits of biosafety discussed include - the reduction of possible human and environmental risks of biotechnology products and "accident" costs to the society; increased predictability for a research organisation of the expected time and money to get a new product on the market; making the products of biotechnology accessible to a country; and the provision of certainty and stability to the social framework, necessary for the development of biotechnology research and development activities. Developing countries should balance these potential benefits with the tangible costs of biosafety regulation to the biotechnology organisations and the society. To a biotechnology organisation, biosafety will increase the research lag, production costs, transaction costs and marketing costs. Given the scarcity of human and physical resources, setting up a biosafety system also poses opportunity costs to the society. The following issues need careful examination in designing a biosafety policy in a developing country: the goal of biosafety policy; the appropriate means of controlling risk; the impact of biosafety on scientific development and private investments; the impact of biosafety on the international transfer of technology and international trade; the incidence of biosafety costs; and the size of biosafety system.

http://agecon.lib.umn.edu/msu/sp98-05.html

Risk prevention and the political control of genetic engineering: lessons from a participatory technology assessment on transgenic herbicide-resistant crops. Daele W van den AgBiotech News and Information vol. 10 (11): p.355N-358N 1998

The review describes the political experiment of a participatory technology assessment which was organised in Germany to test whether the endless battle over genetic engineering could be transferred from the public arena to a dialogue of rational argumentation. Transgenic herbicide-resistant crop plants were the topic of the technology assessment. The claim that such plants pose particular risks because they have been genetically modified could not be defended in an exchange of arguments. The critics continued to reject the technology, but on different grounds, arguing that there was no acceptable social need for herbicide-resistant plants, since better alternatives were available. This shift seemed to indicate that the real issue behind the conflict over genetic engineering is not the prevention of risk, but the quest for more democratic control of the dynamics of technological innovation. The critics refused, however, to ratify this finding as a result of the dialogue and thus avoided the redefinition of the conflict in the public agenda. 1 ref.

Biosafety of transgenic crops: precautions for case-by-case risk assessment. Bhat SR; Chopra VL, Current Science vol. 74 (1): p.16-17 1998

In countries where transgenics have gradually been commercialised, the regulatory authorities typically require a case-by-case environmental risk assessment to be carried out before granting permission for large open-field tests and commercial release. This paper highlights some additional considerations for developing countries, where farm holdings are often small and technology absorption varies widely between farmers. Such precautions stem from the fact that current procedures for risk assessments fail to take into account the possible contiguous cultivation of different cultivars of a crop containing the same transgene. 8 ref.

Biotechnology Fears

Selling Suicide farming, false promises and genetic engineering in developing countries Andrew Simms, Christian Aid 1999

A battle is beginning to rage for control of farming in poor countries. In Brazil, farmers, landless people and officials are joining together to reject genetically modified (GM) crops. In India, where poor farmers are already vulnerable and some are driven to suicide, farming increasingly dominated by large corporations, will leave the poor further marginalised. Centuries-old ways of farming on which the poor depend are also threatened by new seed technologies. Ethiopia, a country virtually ignored by the giant agrochemical companies, contradicts the view that GM crops are anything to do with ending hunger.

http://www.christian-aid.org.uk/reports/suicide/index.html

Biotechnology Myths by Miguel Altieri, PhD University of California at Berkeley

Myth #1 Biotechnology will benefit US farmers

Myth #2 Biotechnology will benefit Third World farmers

Myth #3 Biotechnology production promises will be a blessing for the poor and hungry of the Third World.

Myth #4 Biotechnology will not attempt against the ecological sovereignty of the Third World.

Myth #5 Biotechnology will lead to Biodiversity Conservation

Myth #6 Biotechnology is ecologically safe, offering softer technologies and will launch a period of chemical-free agriculture

Myth #7 Biotechnology will enhance the use of molecular biology for the benefit of all society

Myth #8 Biotechnology is a more environmentally sound approach to pest management and sustainable agriculture.

http://www.argonet.co.uk/users/john.rose/biomyth.html

Risks of Genetic Engineering Union of Concerned Scientists

Many previous technologies have proved to have adverse effects unexpected by their developers. DDT, for example, turned out to accumulate in fish and thin the shells of fish-eating birds like eagles and ospreys. And chlorofluorocarbons turned out to float into the upper atmosphere and destroy ozone, a chemical that shields the earth from dangerous radiation. What harmful effects might turn out to be associated with the use or release of genetically engineered organisms? This is not an easy question. Being able to answer it depends on understanding complex biological and ecological systems. So far, scientists know of no generic harms associated with genetically engineered organisms. For example, it is not true that all genetically engineered foods are toxic or that all released engineered organisms are likely to proliferate in the environment. But specific engineered organisms may be harmful by virtue of the novel gene combinations they possess. This means that the risks of genetically engineered organisms must be assessed case by case and that these risks can differ greatly from one gene-organism combination to another.

http://www.ucsusa.org/agriculture/gen.risks.html

"Bt Crops and Their Impacts on Insects and Food Webs" Florianne Koechlin GENET News A SEED, Europe March 21, 1999

At an international meeting of entomologists in Basel in March 1999 scientists raised a red flag: Genetically engineered Bt-crops could poison beneficial insects as well as wiping out pests. Angelika Hilbeck and her team (Swiss Federal Research Station for Agroecology and Agriculture) said they have found new evidence that lacewings, which eat caterpillars and aphids, can be poisoned by transgenic Bt-crops (these crops contain a gene from the soil bacterium Bacillus Thuringiensis coding for a Bt-toxin. The transgenic plant thus produces its own insecticide). They showed already last year that in laboratory tests beneficial lacewings were killed by eating corn-borer caterpillars that had consumed the toxin. In other experiments her team fed identical quantities of purified Bt-toxin directly to lacewing larvae or via caterpillars that had consumed the toxin. 50% more lacewings died after eating the caterpillars than after eating directly the toxin.(N.S., 27.2.99). At the same meeting Nicholas Birch (Scottish Crop Research Institute) presented his findings that transgenic lectin-producing potatoes (lectin is a toxin of the same group as the Bt-toxin) harmed ladybirds: Eating aphids reared on transgenic lectin-potatoes reduced the the lifespans and egg production of ladybirds.

http://www.biotech-info.net/insects2.html

Pilot Decision Support System for Safety Assessment of Genetically Modified Crop Plants June, 1999

The Pilot System is intended to be used as a tool to preserve, disseminate and interpret available data and information regarding releases of genetically modified crop plants into the environment. It is also intended to enhance familiarity with environmental introductions of transgenic crops and provide information support to regulatory authorities, researchers and biosafety officers of public institutions and commercial enterprises.

http://www.biotech-info.net/decision_ss.html

The Social Aspects of Food Biotechnology: A European View Barling D., de Vriend, H., et al Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology February 1, 1999

The application of the modern biotechnology to food, notably through the use of GM, has raised concern amongst the European public. Values that underlie this public concern about food biotechnology, include perceptions of: trust, choice, need, and care for a sustainable society and natural balance. Recommendations are advocated for addressing these social aspects, in terms of improving consumer choice, promoting greater public involvement in decision making and achieving a sustaingble society. A model of risk analysis for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and genetically modified food that incorporates this social dimension, through the integration of risk analysis with a social impact analysis is proposed, in order to build greater popular trust into the decision making processees.

http://www.biotech-info.net/social_aspects2.html

Biotechnology and Sustainable Agriculture Union of Concerned Scientists

In general, biotechnology, particularly genetic engineering, is not a fruitful approach in the quest for a sustainable agriculture. Sustainable agriculture solves problems by understanding and adjusting the elements of the system to achieve its goals. The approach minimises the use of off-farm products, such as pesticides and fertilisers, for both economic and environmental reasons. Agricultural biotechnology is basically an industry that develops products, often expensive products, priced to cover the costs of research and development. In general, new products are of minor importance to sustainable agriculture. Moreover, such products may pose risks, some unique, to human health and the environment.

http://www.ucsusa.org/agriculture/gen.sustain.html

Biotechnology - Relevance for the South

The debate on genetically modified organisms: Relevance for the South Robert Tripp Overseas Development Institute Briefing Paper 1999 (1) January 1999

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are at the centre of extraordinary controversy. The implications of these debates must be addressed by policy makers in the South. Concerns about GMOs include environmental impact, food safety, the control of agricultural technology, and the direction of agricultural change. Some of these issues require a strengthening of current regulatory systems while others can be addressed by well-informed agricultural policy and legal reform. But adequate regulatory and policy responses depend upon the generation and utilisation of good quality information

http://www.oneworld.org/odi/briefing/1_99.html

Biotechnology and the Policy Process: Challenges for Developing Countries A concept note by IDS plus collaborators

An important new research agenda is being developed by the IDS with partners in the developing world. It seeks to examine the policy process on biotechnology in 3 developing countries in order to assess the ability of existing institutions and decision-making procedures to regulate agricultural biotechnologies in a way which which is supportive of the food security of poorer farmers. Following from this, it will attempt to identify reforms in the way policy is made that may make biotechnology policy-making more transparent, inclusive and oriented to the needs of the poor. This is critical to the successful exploitation of potential opportunities and minimisation of risks associated with the use of biotechnologies in the agricultural sector.

http://www.gecko.ac.uk/harvard.html

Biotechnology in Crops: Issues for the developing world Research paper for Oxfam GB, Laura Spinney, May 1998

In 1997 30 million acres worldwide were planted with genetically modified (GM) crops. Almost 15 per cent of the 1997 US soya harvest was grown from GM seed and China is thought to be growing over four million acres of GM tobacco and tomatoes. Twenty-three GM crop varieties have reached the stage where strict regulations are no longer required for field testing in the US.

http://www.oxfam.org.uk/policy/papers/gmfoods/gmfoods.htm

"Biotechnology and Food Security in the 21st Century" Ismail Serageldin Science 285: 387 July 16, 1999

Biotechnology can contribute to future food security if it benefits sustainable small-farm agriculture in developing countries. Presently, agrobiotechnology research cites ethical, safety, and intellectual property rights issues. Protection of intellectual property rights encourages private sector investment in agrobiotechnology, but in developing countries the needs of smallholder farmers and environmental conservation are unlikely to attract private funds. Public investment will be needed, and new and imaginative public-private collaboration can make the gene revolution beneficial to developing countries. This is crucial for the well-being of today's hungry people and future generations.

http://www.biotech-info.net/biotech_security.html

Biotechnology Claims

The ISAAA Biosafety Initiative A Demand-Driven and Hands-On Approach

The global developments in biotechnology have brought new opportunities and challenges and raised hopes of many countries, especially developing countries. This is because biotechnology holds the potential to combat disease, hunger and poverty if the technology is harnessed and utilized properly and transferred for application in developing countries. More specifically, certain applications allow for the reduced use of toxic chemical pesticides, and through increases in productivity, reduce pressure on land extension, thus contributing to environmental conservation.

http://www.isaaa.org/Biosaf.htm

ISAAA Briefs: Global Review of Commercialized Transgenic Crops: 1998 Clive James Chair, ISAAA Board of Directors No. 8-1999

This publication characterises the adoption of commercialised transgenic crops globally in 1998, excluding China. A database was developed for transgenic crops globally. The data base is analysed by country, crop and trait, and the economic benefits to growers was estimated for selected transgenic crops that were planted in 1996 and 1997 in the USA and Canada. Data on the current global status of commercialised transgenic crops is complemented with a discussion of several key issues, including global food security and the potential benefits for developing countries in a rapidly evolving global market.

http://www.isaaa.org/frbrief8.htm

Biotechnology Assessment

Technical Paper No. 104, "Crop Biotechnology and Sustainability: A Case Study of Colombia", Luis R. Sanint (under the direction of Carliene Brenner), produced as part of the research programme on Sustainable Development: Environment, Resource Use, Technology and Trade, December 1994.

This document provides a description of Colombian agriculture at a glance, to then enter into a more analytical view of how macroeconomic policies have interacted with sectoral policies to contribute in shaping the activity into what it is today. The institutional framework of the biotechnology activity in the country is later exposed to lay the elements for an understanding of its potentials, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Then, the document goes into a detailed description, by prioritised crop cases, of how biotechnology interacts with other processes, sometimes as an integral part of a research program, complementing other disciplines, and other times as just being an isolated component that pursues knowledge for its own sake. The section on diffusion of biotechnology products forms a synthesis of what was previously reviewed, while the last section, on future developments, tackles an essential objective of the study which is to make proposals regarding institutional and policy arrangements aimed at ensuring a more sustainable agriculture.

http://www.oecd.org/dev/PUBLICATION/tp/Tp104.pdf

The Politics of GM Food: Risk, Science and Public Trust’ ESRC Global Environmental Change Programme

Better science is necessary but not sufficient to overcome public mistrust of GM food, according to results from the UK’s biggest ever social science research initiative, the ESRC’s Global Environmental Change Programme. Government needs improved ways of making decisions about such new technologies, where their long-term effects are unknown. These should build on existing limited attempts to include wider public participation in such decisions, according to a major new report ‘The Politics of GM Food: Risk, Science and Public Trust’. The lessons from the small-scale use of consensus conferences and other methods for involving the public suggest that a radical shake up of the whole regulatory process is needed. Regulators need to take full account of public concerns about the cultural, ethical and political, as well as scientific and environmental, issues raised by such new technologies. The report summarises evidence on the GM food debate collected as one part of the £15 million, ten year programme involving over 350 researchers in over 150 projects financed by the Economic and Social Research Council.

http://www.gecko.ac.uk/presfeat.html

"Biotechnology on the Ground: What Kind of Future Can Farmers Expect and What Kind Should They Create?" Frederick Kirschenmann 1999 National Agricultural Biotechnology Council meeting Lincoln, Nebraska June 7, 1999

One of the central questions that any new technology poses for farmers is whether or not it will benefit them. Will it either benefit them directly by solving management problems or improving profitability? Or will it benefit them indirectly by enabling them to achieve some social goal that they wish to support? Such a pragmatic assessment of any technology is, of course, made difficult by the cultural love affair with technology that we have nurtured in our society since the dawn of the industrial revolution.

http://www.biotech-info.net/biotech_onthe_ground.html

Genetic Modification: Overview of Benefits and Risks Jules Pretty, University of Essex 1999

Genetic modification involves the transfer of specific genes to new host organisms, so that these hosts are able to do new things not possible with just their own set of genes. It has the potential to revolutionise both the medical/health and food/agriculture industries, and so change the lives of billions of people. Associated with both medical and agricultural applications, however, are growing concerns over the potential environmental and health costs. Institutional and policy mechanisms already lag behind scientists’ and industry’s capacity to find new uses for the technologies. Ethical issues that require considered and extensive public consideration are in danger of being lost amid the technology rush.

http://www2.essex.ac.uk/ces/CoreResearch/Sustainable%20Agriculture/ofpandora.htm

Crop Biotechnology in Developing Countries: A Conceptual Framework for Ex Ante Economic Analyses von Braun, J.; Qaim, M. Produced by: Zentrum für Entwicklungsforschung (ZEF) / Center for Development Research, Bonn (1998)

Presents a framework within which the potential costs (including negative outcomes) and benefits of specific biotechnologies can be analysed within a developing country context. The method takes into account institutional arrangements and political support systems, and aims to support policy decision making at various stages of the technology adoption path.

http://www.zef.de/download/zef_dp/zef_dp3-98.pdf

"Environmental Risks of Transgenic Crops: Agroecological Assessment" Miguel A. Altieri Environmental Science Policy and Management University of California, Berkeley

Genetic engineering is an application of biotechnology involving the manipulation of DNA and the transfer of gene components between species in order to encourage replication of desired traits (OTA 1992). Although there are many applications of genetic engineering in agriculture, the current focus of biotechnology is on developing herbicide tolerant crops and on pest and disease resistant crops. Transnational corporations such as Monsanto, DuPont, Norvartis, etc. which are the main proponents of biotechnology view transgenic crops as a way to reduce dependence on inputs such as pesticides and fertilizers. What is ironic is the fact that the biorevolution is being brought forward by the same interests that promoted the first wave of agrochemically-based agriculture, but this time, by equipping each crop with new "insecticidal genes," they are promising the world safer pesticides, reduction on chemically intensive farming and a more sustainable agriculture.

http://www.biotech-info.net/altieri2.html

"Long-term effect of GM crops serves up food for thought" Declan Butler and Tony Reichhardt Nature Volume 398:651 April 22, 1999

The media has inflamed public fears about the risks of genetically modified crops for human health and biodiversity. But many responsible scientists agree on the need for more research to identify potential long-term problems. The declared position of the world's major regulatory and scientific agencies is that, in principle, genetically modified (GM) crops pose no greater threat to human health than those produced by traditional breeding. "I don't see any problems at all for genetically modified plants in terms of human health. Researchers are being asked to prove negatives," says Robert McKinney, director of the division of safety at the US National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.

http://www.biotech-info.net/long_term_effect.html

"GEOs pose hazards, risk-assessment difficult, but essential" Chakravarthi Raghavan South-North Development Monitor - SUNS

Genetic Engineering suggests new avenues for production of useful products and organisms, but it also poses hazards to the environment and health. Delineating these hazards is complicated and difficult, but important at every level of decision-making on risk assessment and risk-management - a process where sometimes use of scientific information is distorted by economic interests and the political contexts of decision-making. This was a major thrust of discussions and scientific papers at a symposium on "Genetically Engineered Organisms: Hazardous or Beneficial - How We Find Out", organized as a part of this year's annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America (ESA), at Spokane in Washington on 8 August. The symposium was jointly organized by Prof. Deborrah Letourneau of the University of California at Santa Cruz and Beth Burrows, President of the Edmonds Institute, Washington State.

http://www.biotech-info.net/geo_pose_hazard.html

Commercialisation of transgenic crops: risk, benefit and trade considerations. Gibbs M. Australasian Biotechnology vol. 7 (3): p.167-169 1997

This report for the Horticultural Research and Development Corporation (Australia) gives an overview of the workshop entitled "Commercialisation of transgenic crops: risk, benefit and trade considerations held in Canberra, 11-13 March 1997. A summary of the critical issues raised in 2 workshop sessions is provided for the following subjects: intellectual property rights; regulation in Australia and New Zealand; biosafety of herbicide-, insect- and virus-resistant crops; and new directions for research.

http://www2.icgeb.trieste.it/~srswww/cgi-bin/wgetz?-id+1TpRo1CP01i+-e+[BIOSAFETY-ID:'1641']

Sophisticated Irrigation Technology And Biotechnology Adoption:
Impacts On Ground Water Conservation Talah S. Arabiyat, Eduardo Segarra, and David B. Willis Texas Tech University

A county-wide dynamic optimization model is used to evaluate the potential contributions associated with the adoption of sophisticated irrigation system technology and anticipated biotechnological advances in crop production on ground water conservation. The results indicate that adoption of these technologies could contribute significantly to ground water conservation efforts.

http://www.agbioforum.missouri.edu/agbioforum/vol2no2/segarra.html

Organic Farming and Gene Transfer from Genetically Modified Crops Catherine L. Moyes and Philip J. Dale John Innes Centre, MAFF Research Project OF0157 Copyright © 1999 John Innes Centre. All rights reserved.

Organic farming organisations have ruled that genetically modified (GM) crops have no role to play in their farming systems. Statements to this effect have been incorporated in the United Kingdom organic farming guidelines issued by the UK Register of Organic Food Standards (UKROFS). Relevant extracts from the UKROFS Production Standards document are given in Appendix 1. Organic farmers have become concerned that contamination of organic crops, by GM crops, may lead to loss of their organic certification (Massood, 1998). In addition, the EU will require the use of organically produced seed in organic farming from 1 January 2001, although it is possible that this deadline will be modified. Contamination by pollen or seed from any source is an issue that has always faced seed producers, and regulations concerning the growth of seed production crops exist to counter this problem. A summary of the routes of crop contamination is provided in Figure 1. This report will review the likelihood and consequences of contamination of an organic crop by all of these routes. The report will also include a summary of the GM crops that are most likely to be released in the UK during the foreseeable future.

http://www.gmissues.org/orgreport/gmissues[1].htm

Consequences of the use of the new technology for the control of plant gene expression for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity SUBSIDIARY BODY ON SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVICE Fourth meeting Montreal, 21-25 June 1999

The Conference of the Parties (COP), in paragraph 11 of decision IV/6, requested the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), to consider and assess, in light of contributions to be provided by Parties, Governments and organisations, whether there are any consequences for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity from the development and use of new technology for the control of plant gene expression, such as described in US patent No.5,723,765, and to elaborate scientifically-based advice to COP.

http://www.biodiv.org/sbstta4/HTML/sbstta4-9-rev1-e.htm

Biotech Legislation and Regulation

OECD's Programme of Work on the Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology OECD

This work programme was established for the period 1997-1999 with the goal of promoting international harmonisation in biotechnology. The majority of OECD Member countries have (or are developing) a system of regulatory oversight for those products of biotechnology which are intended for release to the environment. In addition, recent commercialisation of a number of biotechnology products in several OECD Member countries, particularly new crop varieties, will begin to move in international trade. The main focus of the work is on international harmonisation of regulatory oversight in biotechnology which will ensure that environmental health and safety aspects are properly evaluated, while avoiding non-tariff trade barriers to products of the technology.

http://www.oecd.org/ehs/projects.htm

Environmentally sound management of biotechnology CSD Fifth session 7-25 April 1997

The present report reviews progress made in the implementation of the objectives set out in chapter 16 (Environmentally sound management of biotechnology) of Agenda 21, 1/ taking into account the decision taken by the Commission on Sustainable Development on that subject at its third session in 1995. Those objectives are set out relative to the following five programme areas:

• increasing the availability of food, feed and renewable raw materials;

• improving human health;

• enhancing protection of the environment;

• enhancing safety and developing international mechanisms for cooperation; and

• establishing enabling mechanisms for the development and environmentally sound application of biotechnology.

http://www.binas.unido.org/binas/Library/agenda21/agenda16.html#III

Sustainable Livelihoods

Rural livelihood diversity in developing countries: Evidence and Policy implications Frank Ellis ODI Natural Resource Perspectives Number 40, April 1999

This paper examines livelihood diversification as a survival strategy of rural households in developing countries. Although still of central importance, farming on its own is increasingly unable to provide a sufficient means of survival in rural areas. The paper’s objectives are first, to increase awareness of livelihood diversification in approaches to rural development; second, to consider the interactions among diversification and poverty, farm productivity, natural resource management and gender relations in rural areas; and third, to advance the policy understanding of diverse rural livelihoods.

http://www.oneworld.org/odi/nrp/40.html

Biodiversity

"Seed varieties disappearing, Farmers find agricultural options limited"
David Briscoe CBC Newsworld online September 19, 1999

WASHINGTON -- With thousands of plant species nearing extinction, the world's farmers are losing valuable crop alternatives. In the United States, more than 80 percent of seed varieties sold a century ago no longer are available, according to a report released Saturday. Even crops that may not be producing or seem undesirable could one day help fight against human disease, develop more resistant varieties or respond to future conditions, said Worldwatch Institute researcher John Tuxill, the report's author. The report says more plant species are threatened in the United States than any other country -- 4,669, or 29 percent of all varieties. Next is Australia with 2,245 species threatened, followed by South Africa with 2,215. Worldwide, more than 30,000 plant species are threatened.

http://www.biotech-info.net/varieties_disappearing.html

Gene Banking: UK Scientists Accused of Biopiracy Juma Kwayera

Nairobi (All Africa News Agency, December 13, 1999) - Without adequate legal
and biotechnology know-how, fear is rife that Kenya could lose its wealth of
biogenetic resources through faulty material transfer agreements with
transnational concerns. A showdown is at the moment brewing between Kenya
scientists and their United Kingdom counterparts over a material transfer
agreement the former say is a cleverly designed ploy to access local plant
genetic resources with undue ease.

http://www.africanews.org/east/kenya/stories/19991213/19991213_feat2.html

Green Revolution

Conserving India's Agro-Biodiversity: Prospects and Policy Implications. Ashish Kothari Gatekeeper Series No. 65, International Institute for Environment and Development (iied)/ SIDA, Ashish Kothari (1997) .

What have policies geared toward economic liberalisation in common with South Asia's famed Green Revolution in advanced agricultural technology and farm modernisation? Both have eaten away at the diversity of crop and livestock varieties to be found in the region. A report published by the International Institute for Environment and Development highlights the diversity inherent in India's crop plants and livestock breeds. It connects this richness to versatile patterns of farming on the sub-continent and warns of increasing depletion of both under pressure from liberalisation, citing examples from many locations and suggesting agricultural planners take note of policy implications.

http://nt1.ids.ac.uk/cgi-bin/dbtcgi.exe?RECN=60&$TEXTBASE_PATH=d:\InetPub\wwwroot\data\&$TEXTBASE_NAME=id21&$NODISPLAY=0&$NOREPORT=0&$MAXRECS=10&$REPORT_FORM=full+display&$DISPLAY_FORM=full+display

Maintaining seed diversity during the Green Revolution Yunita T. Winarto Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor, December 1997

Many studies on the consequences of the Green Revolution mention the decline in the diversity of rice varieties as a result of the introduction of high-yielding varieties. Research among rice farmers on the north coast of West Java (Indonesia) has not only confirmed this decline, but also shed some light on the reasons why farmers have tended to opt for certain varieties. This article also looks at the activities of those farmers who kept on experimenting with rice varieties and thus maintained seed diversity.

http://www.nuffic.nl/ciran/ikdm/5-3/articles/seed.html

"The Green Revolution - Part II" Thomas E. Lovejoy St. Louis Post Dispatch
August 22, 1999

It can be really difficult to say if a particular activity is sustainable or not. The definition of sustainable development as provided by Gro Brundtland's Commission on Environment and Development involves maintaining benefits for future generations. That is very general and conceptual. So how does one know it when one sees it? The answer, I believe, lies in tying it to a particular piece of landscape with some ecological cohesion. An example would be South Florida - stretching from the Kissimee River north of Lake Okeechobee down through the great sweep of the Everglades and including Florida Bay, the Keys and the reefs beyond. Its unity relates to a sheet flow of freshwater from north to south.

http://www.biotech-info.net/green_revolution.html

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