Biosafety Protocol agrees important work on risk assessment of GMOs

Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety have adopted a decision that puts its important risk assessment work firmly back on track, after previous setbacks […]

Rapid Synthetic Biology Developments Necessitate “Horizon Scanning”

Parties to the CBD have concluded that the rapid and fast-paced developments in the field of synthetic biology and their potential adverse effects need to be anticipated, monitored and assessed. […]

No Release of “Gene Drives” Without Precautionary Conditions

Parties to the CBD have laid down strict and precautionary conditions for any introduction of organisms containing engineered gene drives into the environment, including for experimental purposes. […]

Cayman Islands Abandons Failed GM Mosquito Project

The Environmental Health Minister of the Cayman Islands has announced that the release of Oxitec’s GM Aedes aegypti mosquitoes has not worked, the contract with Oxitec will formally end soon, and the government will not invest in this technology any furth […]

News Release: United Nations Hits the Brakes on Gene Drives

Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity have made a significant global decision on how to govern a high-risk, new genetic engineering technology – gene drives. […]

South Africa Government Rejects Monsanto’s Triple-stacked GM Drought Tolerant Maize

The South African biosafety authorities have rejected Monsanto’s application for the commercial release of its GM drought tolerant triple-stacked maize: MON 87460 x MON 89034 x NK 603. […]

South Africa Government Rejects Monsanto’s Triple-stacked GM Drought Tolerant Maize

The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) welcomes the decision of the South African biosafety authorities, rejecting Monsanto’s application for the commercial release of its GM drought tolerant triple stacked maize: MON 87460 x MON 89034 x NK 603. […]

Call for a Global Moratorium on Gene Drive Releases

More than 200 global food movement leaders and organizations have signed a call for a global moratorium on gene drive releases, to protect life on Earth and our food and farming systems. […]

Synthetic Biology, Genome Editing and Gene Drives

Over the past 25 years, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has established a system of global oversight for living (a.k.a. genetically) modified organisms (LMOs) based on the principles of precaution, fairness (equitable sharing of benefits) and prior informed consent. COP 14 and COP-MOP 9 will be key to upholding those principles and ensuring they are extended to the governance of next-generation genetic engineering technologies: i.e., synthetic biology, which increasingly encompasses genome editing and gene drive technologies. […]

Release of Risky GM Mosquitoes in Burkina Faso Highly Unethical

Risky genetically modified (GM) “male-sterile” mosquitoes are due to be released in the very near future, in Burkina Faso by the Target Malaria research consortium. However, Target Malaria acknowledges that there are no benefits to the proposed GM mosquito release. […]