THIRD WORLD NETWORK BIOSAFETY INFORMATION SERVICE
Dear friends and colleagues,
Re: Socio-economic aspects in the assessment of GMOs: Options for action
A recent study by the Environment Agency of Austria, ‘Socio-economic aspects in the assessment of GMOs: Options for action’ discusses the socio-economic aspects of the cultivation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). While the study is from an Austrian perspective, in the context of the European Union, it is very useful addition to the socio-economic literature.
It gives an overview of the legal and political as well as the scientific background of a socio-economic assessment of GMO cultivation. Experiences with socio-economic assessments are discussed and important issues identified. In addition, a catalogue of assessment criteria is presented, which is categorized on the basis of the three pillars of sustainability: economy, social aspects and relevant ecological issues.
The report concludes that social, economic and environmental impacts are inherently and inextricably connected, and so the development of an understanding of impact pathways is very important as any changes in any of these fields will entail changes in another.
It concludes that while it is important to define criteria and indicators for the assessment of socio-economic impacts, it is crucial to decide first on basic issues, like defining the scope and baseline.
The report also concludes that an assessment of socio-economic impacts ought to be carried out at the national level to take into account specific national conditions.
We reproduce the summary below. The full report is available at: http://www.umweltbundesamt.at/aktuell/publikationen/publikationssuche/publikationsdetail/?pub_id=1941
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Socio-economic aspects in the assessment of GMOs: Options for action
Environment Agency Austria
Summary
At international level, as well as the level of the European Union, socio-economic aspects of genetically modified organisms are discussed more and more. Although the consideration of these aspects is possible according to European legislation and socio-economic aspects can be taken into account by the European Commission as “other legitimate factors” (Reg. (EC) No. 1829/2003), a clear definition of socio-economic aspects is not available, nor is there any guidance on respective criteria. No Member State has referred to these factors in the course of the authorisation procedure so far. A proposal of the European Commission currently under discussion, regarding the freedom of Member States to decide on the cultivation of GMOs on their territory, is also referring to socioeconomic aspects. This report gives an overview of the legal documents where socio-economic aspects of GMO cultivation are reflected and discusses recent political developments.
This report also provides an overview of the scientific background for socioeconomic assessment, as well as experiences with such assessments and important scientific issues which have been identified. It shows that there are different approaches and opinions regarding the scope of a socio-economic assessment (e. g. regarding consideration of ethical issues or impacts on third countries). In addition, although data are a crucial basis for an assessment, data availability is scarce, as shown by the experiences of Norway, where a socioeconomic assessment of GMOs is already required. Studies are mainly available for economic and less for social issues. Most of these studies deal with effects on the micro-economic level and as the results cannot be transferred there is a lack of data on the macro-economic scale. Other open questions are the definition of a baseline for such an assessment, the quality and quantity of the data needed and the selection of methods to be applied.
These issues were also identified in the report of the European Commission on the socio-economic implications of GMOs published in June 2011. This report was analysed from an Austrian perspective by focusing on the views of Member States on aspects of coexistence, cost development, possible conflicts and sustainable agriculture. As a result of the report, the European Commission concluded that the topic of socio-economic aspects with regard to GMO cultivation needs further attention. In order to discuss the open questions identified in the report a process will be launched starting with a workshop in autumn 2011. This initiative is very important in order to discuss some basic issues like e. g. the scope of socio-economics and the role of ethical issues on a European level. Work on criteria and indicators is important as a precondition to substantiate socio-economic data and thus provide a basis for a meaningful assessment in the future.
The catalogue of socio-economic criteria presented in the report at hand will provide an input to these discussions. It is focusing mainly on aspects which are of major relevance for Austria, as well as on the risks and potential negative effects of GMO cultivation. The catalogue of criteria is based on the three pillars of sustainability, thus providing economic, social and ecological aspects. For each aspect criteria and respective key issues have been defined and described accordingly. In the light of ongoing discussions, ethical issues and issues important for third countries are also reflected.
The catalogue comprises the following criteria of relevance for Austria:
· Economic criteria
o profit
o prosperity
o preservation of the environmental basis
o costs during the whole production chain
o indirect costs
o tourists` expectations
o possibility to implement regional policy
· social criteria
o quality of life
o food availability
o labelling regime
o accessibility of alternatives and dependency
o freedom of research
o preservation of cultural heritage
o social changes
· ecological criteria
o preservation of resources
o preservation of environmental quality
o preservation of biodiversity in cultivated areas
o preservation of biodiversity in uncultivated areas
The information presented here provides a basis for an input to ongoing discussions in the European Union regarding the possible implementation of socioeconomic aspects in the GMO authorisation procedure.