ICTSD - BRIDGES Trade BioRes

COMESA RECOGNISES NEED FOR REGIONAL GMO POLICY

Agricultural ministers of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), meeting in Kampala (Uganda) on 4 November, agreed to create a regional policy on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), thereby responding to recent concerns throughout the area regarding GMOs, in particular GM food aid. This agreement followed a decision by Southern African Development Community (SADC) member states earlier in October to set up an Advisory Committee on GMOs "to develop guidelines to assist member states guard against potential risks in food safety, contamination of genetic resources, ethical issues, trade related issues and consumer concerns" (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 10 October 2002). COMESA ministers also recognised the need for regionally common agricultural strategies and policies. They furthermore examined the impact of HIV/AIDS on various other farming issues such as small holder agricultural production, market access, and rural infrastructure. Erastus Mwencha, COMESA Secretary General, emphasised the precarious food security situation in the region, which he said was a result of both external and internal policies related to inappropriate technology, poor infrastructure, subsidies, and market access in developed countries.

COMESA is a regional trade and economic integration grouping of 20 African nations, including Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

"COMESA agriculture ministers tackle policy on GMOs, food security," COMESA, 18 November 2002.

CIVIL SOCIETY GROUPS QUESTION APPROVAL PROCESS FOR GMOS IN INDIA

The civil society groups Gene Campaign, Forum for Biotechnology and others have urged the Central Vigilance Commissioner to review the conduct of India's regulatory and scientific agencies, and in particular to assess the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) responsible for GM crop approval. Those questioning GEAC's activities highlighted lack of transparency, which they said had led to corruption and irregularities. In particular, they expressed concern that large corporations could buy influence of key officials for favourable reviews of GM crops. To date, GEAC has only approved Bt cotton for commercial release. The Committee at its 7 November deferred its decision on GM mustard for a number of weeks. Some feel this delay is in response to NGO and farmers' organisations pressure. However, the GEAC has decided that no additional trials would be conducted creating uncertainty as to the benefit of the deferment. The Gene Campaign believes that the food and feed safety studies for the GM mustard may not be satisfactory and that additional proper field trials are required.

"GM Mustard: NGOs Appeal to CVC to examine corruption and irregularities," GENE CAMPAIGN, 11 November 2002.

SPS COMMITTEE DISCUSSES EU GMO REGULATIONS AS POSSIBLE WTO CHALLENGE LOOMS

At the 7-8 November meeting of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), the US, Canada, Australia, Argentina and the Philippines again raised concerns regarding the EU's continued de facto moratorium on the approval of new genetically modified organisms (GMOs) (see BRIDGES Weekly, 27 June 2002). Australia also added concerns regarding the EU's proposed labelling and traceability regulations. For its part, Argentina submitted a set of questions, which the EU said they would respond to in writing (G/SPS/GEN/354). The European Commission -- speaking on behalf of the EU -- expressed its frustration that nothing had happened on these issues in the EU since the July SPS Committee meeting, but also stressed that it was a delicate and extremely political process.

The US has yet to decide whether to formally challenge the EU regulations at the WTO. The most recent call for a challenge has come from US agriculture groups that have urged the US government in a letter on 8 November to "engage the EU in a WTO dispute settlement proceeding against its illegal moratorium". European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection David Byrne in a recent interview acknowledged that the legal defences for the EU in case of a dispute "would be very narrow", but also warned that even if the US won the challenge, they might risk a consumer backlash in the EU which would undermine the Commission's efforts to build public confidence in GM foods.

The EU's responses to questions posed by WTO Members regarding the proposed labelling and traceability regulations are contained in the WTO documents G/SPS/GEN/337 and 338.

ICTSD reporting; "Warning on GMO rules delay," FT, 12 November 2002.

An international group of experts on intellectual property (IP) and indigenous people's traditional knowledge (TK) will launch a three-year independent global project at a global dialogue in Bellagio on 25-30 November. The initiative, called "Call of the Earth: Ancient Wisdom for Sustaining Livelihoods, Cultures, and Environments" is aimed at the protection of IP and TK of indigenous peoples by initiating discussions on IP topics that have been identified as important by indigenous peoples in various international forums in an effort to shape conceptual approaches, policies and practices for future interventions in IP public policy development. The initiative thereby aims to respond to both "threats and challenges of emerging international IP policies which do not adequately reflect or respond to the concerns of indigenous peoples." It will involve global and regional IP dialogues, create a "knowledge base," and assist creative local initiatives and capacity building. Other groups that plan to support the "Call of the Earth" initiative include the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United Nations University, and the Mataatua Declaration Association.

At the Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP-8) to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands, taking place in Valencia, Spain, from 18 to 26 November, negotiations on invasive species have reached a deadlock in the contact group, due to deep divisions among Parties over a EU proposal to include a reference to the decision on alien invasive species adopted by the COP-6 to the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) in April 2002 (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 2 May 2002). Australia, supported by the US and Brazil, opposed the inclusion of the reference, arguing that that the COP-6 decision was invalid. The issue could not be resolved in the contact group and negotiations were moved back to the plenary meeting. As a result, substantive discussion on invasive species was overshadowed by procedural issues, IUCN - The World Conservation Union noted. They added that the carry-over of the dispute from one Convention to another was an "unintended side-effect" of the desire to achieve harmonisation between multilateral environmental agreements.