"Frontmatter". In: Plant Genomics and Proteomics

The Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted a sup-
plementary agreement to the Convention known as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
on 29 January 2000. The Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential
risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. It estab-
lishes an advance informed agreement (AIA) procedure for ensuring that countries are
provided with the information necessary to make informed decisions before agreeing to
the import of such organisms into their territory. The Protocol contains reference to a
precautionary approach and reaffirms the precaution language in Principle 15 of the Rio
Declaration on Environment and Development. The Protocol also establishes a Biosafety
Clearing-House to facilitate the exchange of information on living modified organisms
and to assist countries in the implementation of the Protocol
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety http://www.biodiv.org/biosafety/
and so mandates that the public is to be informed and educated about
biosafety. However, the reaction against the technology in Europe has greater
impacts on the public image elsewhere than can be generated from a rea-
soned argument for the safe use of the technology. In addition, many parts
of the developing world have not put in place the framework for dealing
with the issues of GM crops and their products.
It is relatively simple for countries to set up a legal framework. In fact,
many have done so, and in this regard the Zambian government has devel-
oped a National Biosafety and Biotechnology Strategy Plan for 2003 to 2007
in response to debate over GM foods. The five-year plan will take care of the
unwarranted proliferation of GMOs in the country and set a local design 
for the development of biosafety regulations to protect the country’s unique
biodiversity. 
Although the legal framework can easily be put in place, it is a much
longer process to provide the scientific infrastructure to produce new food
varieties. Again using the Zambian example, it is estimated that the imple-
mentation of this plan will require an estimated $18 million for the devel-
opment of human resources and infrastructure alone to deal with the GMO
issues.
Therefore, according to the Cartagena Protocol, countries must institute
processes to ensure that LMOs are used safely. These needs are many and
complex and include: 
∑ A versatile and flexible system for receiving notifications about the
intended introduction of a LMO that can handle both contained and
released organisms
∑ Ensuring completeness of the notification so that all the necessary
information is provided
∑ Scientific oversight of the risk assessment whether it is performed in
the country or from data provided 
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∑ Systems that allow public and stakeholder comment to be considered
before any decision being made
∑ The inclusion of modifications as a result of public comment
∑ The release of the decision to the party concerned and the public
Most important of all, this structure must be in place before the first deci-
sion is, or can be, made. As is required in item 3, there must be appropriate
scientific resources to evaluate the data, and these resources are currently
unavailable in many of the developing countries. 
As the distribution of GM crops increases, there will be many opportu-
nities for countries to cooperate in the decisions concerning the release 
of such crops. Because many of the parameters would be similar, it may 
not be necessary for neighboring countries to repeat the complete process
for a product that has already been approved by a neighboring country; for
example, would Kenya and Uganda need to independently repeat all the
steps to approve a product once it has been approved in one of these two
countries?
At present, there is a growing interest in biosecurity because of major
international developments such as the globalization of the world eco-
nomy, rapid increase in communications, transport, and trade, technological
progress, and an increased awareness of biological diversity and environ-
mental issues. The international regulatory institutions that impinge on
world food trade issues are shown in Table 10.2. 
The international regulations covering movement of GMO (or LMOs)
and the number of countries that agree to these regulations are also shown
in Table 10.2. The Cartagena Protocol required a minimum of 50 signatories
for formal adoption, a number that has now been reached.
The adoption of biotechnology and the introduction of GM foods into
the international marketplace have further complicated an already difficult
area of trade policy. Diverging national regulations and public perceptions
have impacts on the trade in these products. The recent WTO agreement on
agriculture has not yet been fully implemented, and many of the issues still
outstanding are highly contentious. Because there is little goodwill in the
policy community that can be directed to resolving the growing trade irri-
tants caused by GM foods, the private sector may need to change how it
introduces and markets the new products of biotechnology to maintain
market access (Pardey and Ko, 2003).
In Africa, according to their ministers of agriculture, farmers urgently
need appropriate modern biotechnology packages to help improve the
declining production of major food and cash crops. However, if African and
other developing nations are not to be marginalized further, but rather
benefit from biotechnology, they must have initiatives that include improv-
ing their expert capacity for science and technology by producing a core of
highly skilled scientists or experts. In addition, the next generation of trans-
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genic crops should have definite consumer advantages, such as better nutri-
tional value in a culturally acceptable form, to overcome the possibility that
in developing countries the emphasis on the risks and dangers of biotech-
nology will, one day down the road, overshadow the positive benefits of the
technology.