Safety In Biotechnology To Be Discussed In Asean Workshop

Bandar Seri Begawan - The Asean Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) in cooperation with Cambodia's Ministry of the Environment will host a workshop on "Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)/ Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) and Enforcement of Bio-safety Regulations" from June 22 to 24 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The three-day workshop will provide a venue for sharing up-to-date scientific information on bio-safety and risk assessment, enhancing national and regional capacity to address bio-safety issues, and strengthening cooperation in the Asean region.

Experts from the Canadian Ministry of Environment, the Federal Environment Agency of Austria, the Third World Network, the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat, and theAsean Secretariat will serve as technical speakers and facilitators. The participants will include those technical experts involved in regulatory assessment and bio-safety compliance activities from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam.

Bio-safety is the term coined to describe efforts to reduce potential risks from biotechnology and its products such as GMOs and LMOs. It was identified as a critical issue by the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in 1992. Years later, the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety was adopted in 2000 to ensure that while maximum benefits are reaped from biotechnologies, adequate safety measures will be in place to guard against possible risks to humans and the environment.

"Since Asean member countries are mostly developing nations which have limited technical and scientific staff who can implement bio-safety regulations and assess risks involved with GMOs and LMOs, this workshop is both timely and necessary," said Rodrigo Fuentes, executive director of the European Union-funded ACB, an intergovernmental regional centre of excellence that actively promotes knowledge sharing and capacity building among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. For more information on the workshop and on ACB, contact (+6349) 536-2865 and (+6349) 536-1044, e-mail contact.us@aseanbiodiversity.org, or visit www.aseanbiodiversity.org. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin