Globalisation and the International Governance of Modern Biotechnology The International Regulation of Modern Biotechnology
by Ruth Mackenzie
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INTRODUCTION
Products derived from modern biotechnology are subject to a growing array of international institutional oversight, both technology-based and sector- or productbased. Over recent years several new instruments have been elaborated addressing biosafety, while existing institutions and regimes have also turned their attention to the development of specific standards on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or derivatives of such organisms.
These developments present both a safeguard and a challenge for developing countries. On the one hand, internationally agreed rules and standards aim to ensure that developing countries do not become “testing grounds” or “dumping grounds ” for untested and potentially harmful technologies and products. Negative experiences in relation to hazardous wastes2 and chemicals gave rise to a precautionary attitude on the part of developing countries when faced with new applications of biotechnology. On the other hand, the instruments pose implementation and capacity challenges. In addition, the instruments themselves, being the subject of intense international debate and controversy, incorporate certain “negotiated ambiguities” that suggest that implementation will have to be mediated through further international negotiation. Given the range of applicable instruments, multiple fora exist within which these further negotiations may occur. Far from setting out a clear “rule-based” system, the current international institutional framework presents developing countries with a series of policy choices which need to be worked out in specific legal and political contexts, including food aid; debt; development assistance; multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs); and World Trade Organisation (WTO) membership and the post-Doha negotiations.
In developed countries, GMOs have been the subject of intense policy debate, both within and between states. Significant claims have been made about the capacity of modern biotechnology to contribute to food security, in particular by increasing agricultural production in developing countries and by enhancing the nutritional value of basic foods.3 At the same time, serious concerns have been expressed about potential impacts of GM crops on the environment and on human health, as well as about their potential socio-economic impacts. With regard to the latter, there are concerns about potential distributive impacts of GMOs: upon what conditions would GM seeds be made available to farmers, and subject to what restrictions; what impact might GMOs have on traditional varieties of crops relied upon by farmers in developing countries, and upon centres of origin and diversity of agricultural biodiversity; and what impact might the introduction of GMOs in developed countries have on commodity exports from developing countries? While scientific opinion as to the extent of any environmental and health risks remains divided, research has given rise to concerns about a number of potential risks associated with the release and use of GMOs. These tend to fall into a number of categories, including: (i) potential impacts of GMOs on non-target species, such as beneficial insects or birds; (ii) the potential for cross-pollination between GM and non-GM (and organic) crops, or between GM crops and wild plants – ‘genetic drift’, or “genetic pollution”. (iii) introduction of non-native or ‘exotic’ species into the environment with the potential displacement of native species – e.g. the spread of GMOs as weeds or ‘volunteers’; (iv) indirect effects on the environment - for example through changed agricultural […]
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