MANAGEMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY SEEN AS CRUCIAL TO DEVELOPING WORLD
Press Release
TAD/1920
MANAGEMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY SEEN AS CRUCIAL TO DEVELOPING WORLD
20000719(Delayed in transmission.)
GENEVA, 13 July (UNCTAD) -- The risks and opportunities of biotechnology and its ownership and transfer to developing countries are of increasing interest to those nations, according to discussions at a meeting of the United Nations Commission on Science and Technology for Development (CSTD), organized by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva, 3 to 5 July.
Biotechnology is viewed by some as one way to meet the increased food needs of the world's growing population. It is already being applied to the development of disease-resistant, higher-yield crops that can better cope with drought, and to the development of medicines to treat tropical and other diseases. But its very potential also constitutes unknown risks, and the spread of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) across national and regional boundaries, whether through manmade or natural means, is a cause of concern in some quarters. Likewise, with most of advanced biotechnology in the hands of large corporations in the North, the South is alarmed about a widening technology gap and about losing out on the benefits of its own biodiversity.
"The potential contribution of biotechnology to sustainable agriculture is truly great", said Dr. Ivan Artunduaga Salas, Chairman of Colombia's National Biosafety Commission. However, he warned, the introduction of new transgenic varieties, especially in tropical ecosystems, has to be monitored in order to avoid the possible adverse impacts on natural resources, the environment, agricultural productivity and human health.
A policy and regulatory framework is also needed, agreed Commission Chairman tefan Morávek of the Slovak Republics Foreign Affairs Ministry. This would encourage the inward transfer of biotechnology appropriate to national needs while at the same time managing or constraining the import and development of technologies presenting unacceptable threats -- whether to human, animal or environmental health, socio-economic welfare or moral and ethical standards.
Concern over adverse impacts is reflected in the trade and intellectual property arena as well. Developing country experts at the meeting discussed how to reconcile their concerns about the use of trade protectionist measures by developed countries with their own wishes to protect themselves against the import of possibly harmful GMOs.
- 2 - Press Release TAD/1920 19 July 2000
Human Genome Sequencing Highlights Ownership Issues
The ownership of living matter as intellectual property was discussed from several angles. First, there are growing concerns in Latin America that multinational companies are increasingly acquiring national agricultural firms, which gives the former free access to traditional crop-breeding knowledge without adequate compensation, according to Mr. Salas. A similar situation occurs where medicinal plants in developing countries, and indigenous knowledge about them, can be commercially exploited by foreign firms through bioprospecting activities. More recently, the announcement that both the Human Genome Project (HGP) and a private United States firm were close to decoding the human genome has brought the issue of ownership of knowledge related to biotechnological innovations, and especially the issue of patenting genes and other living matter, to the fore, said Mr. Morávek. HGP, a multinational public sector research consortium, has announced that its genome database will be made freely available on the Internet, whereas the private company is expected to charge royalties.
At the same time, however, the genome project constitutes an excellent example of technology transfer at work, said Gert-Jan van Ommen of Leiden University, one of the lead scientists in the HGP: with numerous laboratories operating in at least 18 different countries, it is combating the private-sector monopoly on biotechnology. Ways and means to transfer biotechnology to developing countries have been relatively neglected, according to Mr. Morávek, who said that, although some biotechnology innovations originate in the South, most of the more advanced and complex biotechnology is still being developed in industrialized countries. Both developing countries and countries in transition therefore need to build the capacity to identify, assess, acquire, adapt, diffuse, develop and manage biotechnologies as they emerge onto the international technology market or into the public domain, he added.
It is difficult, because of economics, to implement solutions even when there are cures, Mr. van Ommen acknowledged. However, he said there were already signs -- such as the recent agreements to market low-cost HIV drugs in developing countries -- that industry in the developed countries had begun to take those problems on board. As to the risks implicit in biotechnology, he pointed out that the world would never have had antibiotics had risks not been taken, and errors made, in earlier research. What else can we do but write the rules while were still playing the game? he asked, noting that the invention of the airplane increased the speed of travel, but it also increased the speed of transmission of disease vectors.
Technological leapfrogging Urged
Because of the knowledge-intensive nature of biotechnology, technological leapfrogging is possible and even advisable for developing countries, said Calestous Juma, Director of the Science, Technology and Innovation Programme at Harvard University's Centre for International Development. Those countries do not have to rely solely on imported know-how from industrial countries but can also develop biotechnology innovations at low cost and which address local needs. Discussions on developing country issues have often been on obstacles and not on opportunities, he added, calling for a more positive and creative approach to policies which address the opportunities for biotechnology development.
- 3 - Press Release TAD/1920 19 July 2000
The CSTD, which promotes the scientific and technological development of developing countries, has chosen biotechnology as its main theme for 1999-2000. At the meeting, Commission members and experts from public and private research institutes and international agencies exchanged experiences and discussed recommendations for policy action at the national and international levels. The recommendations, to be transmitted to the Economic and Social Council, will deal with improving information flows and networks, especially between developed and developing countries; building infrastructure capacity in information technologies; and developing expertise in bioinformatics, among others.
For further information, please contact: Helen Argalias, Chief, Science and Technology Policy Analysis Section, UNCTAD, telephone: +41 22 907 5611; fax: +41 22 907 0197; e-mail: ; or UNCTAD Press Unit; telephone: +41 22 907 5725/5828; fax: +41 22 907 00 43, e-mail: .
* *** *