Agenda 21 – Chapter 16
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND MANAGEMENT OF BIOTECHNOLOGY
16.1. Biotechnology is the integration of the new techniques emerging from modern biotechnology with
the well-established approaches of traditional biotechnology. Biotechnology, an emerging
knowledge-intensive field, is a set of enabling techniques for bringing about specific man -made
changes in deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), or genetic material, in plants, animals and microbial
systems, leading to useful products and technologies. By itself, biotechnology cannot resolve all the
fundamental problems of environment and development, so expectations need to be tempered by
realism. Neverthele ss, it promises to make a significant contribution in enabling the development of,
for example, better health care, enhanced food security through sustainable agricultural practices,
improved supplies of potable water, more efficient industrial development processes for transforming
raw materials, support for sustainable methods of afforestation and reforestation, and detoxification
of hazardous wastes. Biotechnology also offers new opportunities for global partnerships, especially
between the countries ric h in biological resources (which include genetic resources) but lacking the
expertise and investments needed to apply such resources through biotechnology and the countries
that have developed the technological expertise to transform biological resources s o that they serve
the needs of sustainable development. 1/ Biotechnology can assist in the conservation of those
resources through, for example, ex situ techniques. The programme areas set out below seek to foster
internationally agreed principles to be ap plied to ensure the environmentally sound management of
biotechnology, to engender public trust and confidence, to promote the development of sustainable
applications of biotechnology and to establish appropriate enabling mechanisms, especially within
developing countries, through the following activities:
a. Increasing the availability of food, feed and renewable raw materials;
b. Improving human health;
c. Enhancing protection of the environment;
d. Enhancing safety and developing international mechanisms for coo peration;
e. Establishing enabling mechanisms for the development and the environmentally sound
application of biotechnology.
PROGRAMME AREAS
A. Increasing the availability of food, feed and renewable raw materials
Basis for action
16.2. To meet the growing consumption needs of the global population, the challenge is not only to increase food supply, but also to improve food distribution significantly while simultaneously developing more sustainable agricultural systems. Much of this increased productivity w ill need to take place in developing countries. It will require the successful and environmentally safe application of biotechnology in agriculture, in the environment and in human health care. Most of the investment in modern biotechnology has been in the industrialized world. Significant new investments and human resource development will be required in biotechnology, especially in the developing world.
Objectives
16.3. The following objectives are proposed, keeping in mind the need to promote the use of ap propriate
safety measures based on programme area D:
a. To increase to the optimum possible extent the yield of major crops, livestock, and
aquaculture species, by using the combined resources of modern biotechnology and
conventional plant/animal/micro -organism improvement, including the more diverse use
of genetic material resources, both hybrid and original. 2/ Forest product yields should
similarly be increased, to ensure the sustainable use of forests; 3/
b.
To reduce the need for volume increases of food, feed and raw materials by improving
the nutritional value (composition) of the source crops, animals and micro-organisms,
and to reduce post-harvest losses of plant and animal products;
c.
To increase the use of integrated pest, disease and crop management t echniques to
eliminate overdependence on agrochemicals, thereby encouraging environmentally
sustainable agricultural practices;
d.
To evaluate the agricultural potential of marginal lands in comparison with other
potential uses and to develop, where appropriate, systems allowing for sustainable
productivity increases;
e.
To expand the applications of biotechnology in forestry, both for increasing yields and
more efficient utilization of forest products and for improving afforestation and
reforestation techniques. Efforts should be concentrated on species and products that are
grown in and are of value particularly for developing countries;
f.
To increase the efficiency of nitrogen fixation and mineral absorption by the symbiosis of
higher plants with micro-organisms;
g.
To improve capabilities in basic and applied sciences and in the management of complex
interdisciplinary research projects.
Activities
(a) Management-related activities
16.4. Governments at the appropriate level, with the assistance of international and regional organizations and with the support of non-governmental organizations, the private sector and academic and scientific institutions, should improve both plant and animal breeding and micro-organisms through the use of traditional and modern biotechnologies, to enhance sustainable agricultural output to achieve food security, particularly in developing countries, with due regard to the prior identification of desired characteristics before modification, taking into account the needs of farmers, the socio- economic, cultural and environmental impacts of modifications and the need to promote sustainable social and economic development, paying particular attention to how the use of biotechnology will impact on the maintenance of environmental integrity.
16.5. More specifically, these entities should:
a.
Improve productivity, nutritional quality and shelf-life of food and animal feed products,
with efforts including work on pre- and post-harvest losses;
b.
Further develop resistance to diseases and pests;
c.
Develop plant cultivars tolerant and/or resistant to stress from factors such as pests and
diseases and from abiotic causes;
d.
Promote the use of underutilized crops of possible future importance for human nutrition
and industrial supply of raw materials;
e.
Increase the efficiency of symbiotic processes that assist sustainable agricultural
production;
f.
Facilitate the conservation and safe exchange of plant, animal and microbial germ plasm
by applying risk assessment and management procedures, including improved diagnostic
techniques for detection of pests and diseases by better methods of rapid propagation;
g.
Develop improved diagnostic techniques and vaccines for the prevention and spread of
diseases and for rapid assessment of toxins or infectious organisms in products for human
use or livestock feed;
h.
Identify more productive strains of fast-growing trees, especially for fuel wood, and
develop rapid propagation methods to aid their wider dissemination and use;
i.
Evaluate the use of various biotechnology techniques to improve the yields of fish, algal
and other aquatic species;
j.
Promote sustainable agricultural output by strengthening and broadening the capacity and
scope of existing research centres to achieve the necessary critical mass through
encouragement and monitoring of research into the development of biological products
and processes of productive and environmental value that are economically and socially
feasible, while taking safety considerations into account;
k.
Promote the integration of appropriate and traditional biotechnologies for the purposes of
cultivating genetically modified plants, rearing healthy animals and protecting forest
genetic resources;
l.
Develop processes to increase the availability of materials derived from biotechnology
for use in food, feed and renewable raw materials production.
(b) Data and information
16.6. The following activities should be undertaken:
a.
Consideration of comparative assessments of the potential of the different technologies
for food production, together with a system for assessing the possible effects of
biotechnologies on international trade in agricultural products;
b.
Examination of the implications of the withdrawal of subsidies and the possible use of
other economic instruments to reflect the environmental costs associated with the
unsustainable use of agrochemicals;
c.
Maintenance and development of data banks of information on environmental and health
impacts of organisms to facilitate risk assessment;
d.
Acceleration of technology acquisition, transfer and adaptation by developing countries
to support national activities that promote food security.
(c) International and regional cooperation and coordination
16.7. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of relevant international and regional
organizations, should promote the following activities in conformity with international agreements or
arrangements on biological diversity, as appropriate:
a.
Cooperation on issues related to conservation of, access to and exchange of germ plasm;
rights associated with intellectual property and informal innovations, including farmers'
and breeders' rights; access to the benefits of biotechnology; and bio-safety;
b.
Promotion of collaborative research programmes, especially in developing countries, to
support activities outlined in this programme area, with particular reference to
cooperation with local and indigenous people and their communities in the conservation
of biological diversity and sustainable use of biological resources, as well as the fostering
of traditional methods and knowledge of such groups in connection with these activities;
c. Acceleration of technology acquisition, transfer and adaptation by developing countries
to support national activities that promote food security, through the development of
systems for substantial and sustainable productivity increases that do not damage or
endanger local ecosystems; 4/
d. Development of appropriate safety procedures based on programme area D, taking
account of ethical considerations.
Means of implementation
(a) Financing and cost evaluation
16.8. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total annual cost (1993 -2000) of implementing the activities of this programme to be about $5 billion, including about $50 million from the international community on grant or conc essional terms. These are indicative and order -of-magnitude estimates only and have not been reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that are non -concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
(b) Scientific and technological means*
(c) Human resource development
16.9. Training of competent professionals in the basic and applied sciences at all levels (including scientific personnel, technical st aff and extension workers) is one of the most essential components of any programme of this kind. Creating awareness of the benefits and risks of biotechnology is essential. Given the importance of good management of research resources for the successful completion of large multidisciplinary projects, continuing programmes of formal training for scientists should include managerial training. Training programmes should also be developed, within the context of specific projects, to meet regional or national n eeds for comprehensively trained personnel capable of using advanced technology to reduce the "brain drain" from developing to developed countries. Emphasis should be given to
- See paras. 16.6 and 16.7.
encouraging collaboration betwe en and training of scientists, extension workers and users to produce integrated systems. Additionally, special consideration should be given to the execution of programmes for training and exchange of knowledge on traditional biotechnologies and for train ing on safety procedures.
(d) Capacity-building
16.10. Institutional upgrading or other appropriate measures will be needed to build up technical, managerial, planning and administrative capacities at the national level to support the activities in this programme area. Such measures should be backed up by international, scientific, technical and financial assistance adequate to facilitate technical cooperation and raise the capacities of the developing countries. Programme area E contains further details.
B. Improving human health
Basis for action
16.11. The improvement of human health is one of the most important objectives of development. The deterioration of environmental quality, notably air, water and soil pollution owing to toxic chemicals, hazardous wastes, radiation and other sources, is a matter of growing concern. This degradation of the environment resulting from inadequate or inappropriate development has a direct negative effect on human health. Malnutrition, poverty, poor human settlements, lack of good-quality potable water and inadequate sanitation facilities add to the problems of communicable and non-communicable diseases. As a consequence, the health and well-being of people are exposed to increasing pressures.
Objectives
16.12.
The main objective of this programme area is to contribute, through the environmentally sound
application of biotechnology to an overall health programme, to: 5/
a.
Reinforce or inaugurate (as a matter of urgency) programmes to help combat major
communicable diseases;
b.
Promote good general health among people of all ages;
c.
Develop and improve programmes to assist in specific treatment of and protection from
major non-communicable diseases;
d.
Develop and strengthen appropriate safety procedures based on programme area D,
taking account of ethical considerations;
e.
Create enhanced capabilities for carrying out basic and applied research and for
managing interdisciplinary research.
Activities
(a) Management-related activities
16.13.
Governments at the appropriate level, with the assistance of international and regional
organizations, academic and scientific institutions, and the pharmaceutical industry, should, taking
into account appropriate safety and ethical considerations:
a.
Develop national and international programmes for identifying and targeting those
populations of the world most in need of improvement in general health and protection
from diseases;
b.
Develop criteria for evaluating the effectiveness and the benefits and risks of the
proposed activities;
c.
Establish and enforce screening, systematic sampling and evaluation procedures for drugs
and medical technologies, with a view to barring the use of those that are unsafe for the
purposes of experimentation; ensure that drugs and technologies relating to reproductive
health are safe and effective and take account of ethical considerations;
d.
Improve, systematically sample and evaluate drinking-water quality by introducing
appropriate specific measures, including diagnosis of water-borne pathogens and
pollutants;
e.
Develop and make widely available new and improved vaccines against major
communicable diseases that are efficient and safe and offer protection with a minimum
number of doses, including intensifying efforts directed at the vaccines needed to combat
common diseases of children;
f.
Develop biodegradable delivery systems for vaccines that eliminate the need for present
multiple-dose schedules, facilitate better coverage of the population and reduce the costs
of immunization;