TWN Info on Biodiversity and TK, UN Sust Dev and Biosafety
6 December 2016
Third World Network
www.twn.my
Dear friends and colleagues,
The biennial meeting of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity is meeting from 4 to 17 December 2016 in Cancun, Mexico. The Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on access and benefit sharing, both treaties under the Convention, are meeting at the same time.
One of the key contentious issues that cut across the agenda of the 3 treaties is synthetic biology. In that regard a wide spectrum of 160 civil society organisations and networks have called for a global moratorium on the controversial genetic extinction technology known as “gene drives” in the form of a decision from more than 140 governments that are meeting in Cancun. Their concerns centre on the serious and potentially irreversible threats to biodiversity, as well as national sovereignty, peace and food security.
Below is the 5 December press release on the call, and attached are the following:
1. Common Call for a Global Moratorium on Genetically-engineered Gene Drives (with the list of signatories)
2. A briefing paper by the Civil Society Working Group on Gene Drives on The Case for a Global Moratorium on Genetically-engineered Gene Drives.
With best wishes,
Third World Network
131 Jalan Macalister
10400 Penang
Malaysia
Email: twn@twnetwork.org
Websites: https://biosafety-info.net/and http://www.twn.my/
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 5, 2016
160 Global Groups Call for Moratorium on New Genetic Extinction Technology at UN Convention
CANCUN, MEXICO – This week, international conservation and environmental leaders are calling on governments at the 2016 UN Convention on Biodiversity to establish a moratorium on the controversial genetic extinction technology called gene drives.
Gene drives, developed through new gene-editing techniques- are designed to force a particular genetically engineered trait to spread through an entire wild population – potentially changing entire species or even causing deliberate extinctions. The statement urges governments to put in place an urgent, global moratorium on the development and release of the new technology, which poses serious and potentially irreversible threats to biodiversity, as well as national sovereignty, peace and food security.
Over 160 civil society organisations from six continents have joined the call. Among them were environmental organizations including Friends of the Earth International; International Union of Food Workers representing over 10 million workers in 127 countries ; organizations representing millions of small-scale famers around the world, such as the La Via Campesina International and the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements; the international indigenous peoples’ organization Tebtebba; scientist coalitions including European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility and Unión de Científicos Comprometidos con la Sociedad (Mexico); as well as ETC Group and Third World Network.
“We lack the knowledge and understanding to release gene drives into the environment – we don’t even know what questions to ask. To deliberately drive a species to extinction has major ethical, social and environmental implications,” says Dr. Steinbrecher, representing the Federation of German Scientists. “It is essential that we pause, to allow the scientific community, local communities and society at large to debate and reflect. We can’t allow ourselves to be led by a novel technique. In the meantime, a moratorium is essential.”
“These genetic extinction technologies are false solutions to our conservation challenges,” said Dana Perls of Friends of the Earth. “We want to support truly sustainable and community driven conservation efforts. Gene drives could be co-opted by agribusiness and military interests. We need a moratorium on irreversible and irresponsible technologies such as gene drives.”
“Gene drives will be one of the fiercest debates at CBD this year,” says Jim Thomas of ETC Group. “Gene drives are advancing far too quickly in the real world, and so far are unregulated. There are already hundreds of millions of dollars pouring into gene drive development, and even reckless proposals to release gene drives within next four years.”
“The CBD is the premier international treaty for protecting biodiversity and life on earth from new threats,” said Lim Li Ching of Third World Network. “It is within the mandate of the CBD to adopt this moratorium, and countries that are party to this agreement must act now to avoid serious or irreversible harm.”