8th July 2004
CONCERNS RAISED AS FAO TREATY ENTERS INTO FORCE
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With the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT)’s entry into force on 29 June (see BRIDGES Trade BioRes, 8 April 2004), some civil society groups remain dubious about the Treaty’s effectiveness. While clearly recognising the significance of the Treaty, the UK Food Group noted that much work needed to be done “to make sure its laudable purposes are not undermined by economically powerful countries seeking rights to extract and privatise genetic resources covered by the Treaty”. Specifically, the group pointed to ambiguities in the text on whether, and to what extent, countries would be able to impose intellectual property rights (IPR) on genetic resources, obtained from the Multilateral System, which had been modified. Others also raised questions about the consistency of the Treaty with existing national IPR regimes and international agreements, including the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights. Underlying these considerations are growing concerns over the continued erosion of plant biodiversity — it is estimated that three-quarters of the genetic diversity found in agricultural crops has been lost over the last century, and currently 80 percent of plant energy comes from only 12 crops.
A copy of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is available at:
For more information on this topic, see “Agrobiodiversity and Intellectual Property Rights: Selected Issues under the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture”, Robert L.J. Lettington.
“International Seed Treaty Becomes Law,” UK FOOD GROUP, 29 June 2004.
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