agenda-21.pdf - Page 20

g. Develop effective biological control agents against dis ease-transmitting vectors, such as mosquitoes and resistant variants, taking account of environmental protection considerations;
h. Using the tools provided by modern biotechnology, develop, inter alia, improved diagnostics, new drugs and improved treatments and delivery systems;
i. Develop the improvement and more effective utilization of medicinal plants and other related sources;
j. Develop processes to increase the availability of materials derived from biotechnology, for use in improving human health.
(b) Data and information

16.14. The following activities should be undertaken:
a. Research to assess the comparative social, environmental and financial costs and benefits of different technologies for basic and reproductive health care within a framework of universal safety and ethical considerations;
b. Development of public education programmes directed at decision makers and the general public to encourage awareness and understanding of the relative benefits and risks of modern biotechnology, according to ethical and cultural considerations.
(c) International and regional cooperation and coordination
16.15. Governments at the appropriate levels, with the support of relevant international and regional organizations, should:
a. Develop and strengthen appropriate safety procedures based on programme area D, taking account of ethical considerations;
b. Support the development of national programmes, particularly in developing countries, for improvements in general health, especially protection from major communicable diseases, common diseases of children and disease-transmitting factors.
Means of implementation

16.16. To achieve the above goals, the activities need to be implemented with urgency if progress towards the control of major communicable diseases is to be achieved by the beginning of the next century. The spread of some diseases to all regions of the world calls for global measures. For more localized diseases, regional or national policies will be more appropriate. The achievement of goals calls for:
a. Continuous international commitment;
b. National priorities with a defined time-frame;
c. Scientific and financial input at global and national levels.
(a) Financing and cost evaluation

16.17. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total annual cost (1993-2000) of implementing the activities of this programme to be about $14 billion, including about $130 million from the international community on grant or concessional 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

16.18. Well-coordinated multid isciplinary efforts involving cooperation between scientists, financial institutions and industries will be required. At the global level, this may mean collaboration between research institutions in different countries, with funding at the intergovernment al level, possibly supported by similar collaboration at the national level. Research and development support will also need to be strengthened, together with the mechanisms for providing the transfer of relevant technology.

16.19. Training and technology transfer is needed at the global level, with regions and countries having access to, and participation in exchange of, information and expertise, particularly indigenous or traditional knowledge and related biotechnology. It is essential to create or enhance endogenous capabilities in developing countries to enable them to participate actively in the processes of biotechnology production. The training of personnel could be undertaken at three levels:
a. That of scientists required for basic and product -oriented research;
b. That of health personnel (to be trained in the safe use of new products) and of science managers required for complex intermultidisciplinary research;
c. That of tertiary-level technical workers required for delivery in the field.
(d) Capacity-building*

C. Enhancing protection of the environment

Basis for action

16.20. Environmental protection is an integral component of sustainable development. The environment is threatened in all its biotic and abiotic components: animals, plants, microbes and ecosystems comprising biological diversity; water, soil and air, which form the physical components of habitats and ecosystems; and all the interactions between the components of biodiversity and their sustaining habitats and ecosystems. With the continued increase in the use of chemicals, energy and non - renewable resources by an

See programme area E.

expanding global population, associated environmental problems will also increase. Despite increasing efforts to prevent waste accumulation and to promote recycling, the amount of environmental damage caused by overconsumption, the quantities of waste generated and the degree of unsustainable land use appear likely to continue growing.

16.21. The need for a divers e genetic pool of plant, animal and microbial germ plasm for sustainable development is well established. Biotechnology is one of many tools that can play an important role in supporting the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems and landscapes. This may be done through the development of new techniques for reforestation and afforestation, germ plasm conservation, and cultivation of new plant varieties. Biotechnology can also contribute to the study of the effects exerted on the remaining organisms and on ot her organisms by organisms introduced into ecosystems.

Objectives

16.22. The aim of this programme is to prevent, halt and reverse environmental degradation through the appropriate use of biotechnology in conjunction with other technologies, while supporting safety procedures as an integral component of the programme. Specific objectives include the inauguration as soon as possible of specific programmes with specific targets:
a. To adopt production processes making optimal use of natural resources, by recycling biomass, recovering energy and minimizing waste generation; 6/
b. To promote the use of biotechnologies, with emphasis on bio-remediation of land and water, waste treatment, soil conservation, reforestation, afforestation and land rehabilitation; 7/ 8/
c. To apply biotechnologies and their products to protect environmental integrity with a view to long-term ecological security.
Activities

(a) Management-related activities

16.23. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of relevant international and regional organizations, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and academic and scientific institutions, should:
a. Develop environmentally sound alternatives and improvements for environmentally damaging production processes;
b. Develop applications to minimize the requirement for unsustainable synthetic chemical input and to maximize the use of environmentally appropriate products, including natural products (see programme area A);
c. Develop processes to reduce waste generation, treat waste before disposal and make use of biodegradable materials;
d. Develop processes to recover energy and provide renewable energy sources, animal feed and raw materials from recycling organic waste and biomass;
e. Develop processes to remove pollutants from the environment, including accidental oil spills, where conventional techniques are not available or are expensive, inefficient or inadequate;
f. Develop processes to increase the availability of planting materials, particularly indigenous varieties, for use in afforestation and reforestation and to improve sustainable yields from forests;
g. Develop applications to increase the availability of stress-tolerant planting material for land rehabilitation and soil conservation;
h. Promote the use of integrated pest management bas ed on the judicious use of bio-control agents;
i. Promote the appropriate use of bio-fertilizers within national fertilizer programmes;
j. Promote the use of biotechnologies relevant to the conservation and scientific study of biological diversity and the sustainable use of biological resources;
k. Develop easily applicable technologies for the treatment of sewage and organic waste;
l. Develop new technologies for rapid screening of organisms for useful biological properties;

m. Promote new biotechnologies for tappin g mineral resources in an environmentally sustainable manner.
(b) Data and information

16.24. Steps should be taken to increase access both to existing information about biotechnology and to facilities based on global databases.

16.25. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of relevant international and regional organizations, should:
a. Strengthen research, training and development capabilities, particularly in developing countries, to supp ort the activities outlined in this programme area;
b. Develop mechanisms for scaling up and disseminating environmentally sound biotechnologies of high environmental importance, especially in the short term, even though those biotechnologies may have limite d commercial potential;
c. Enhance cooperation, including transfer of biotechnology, between participating countries for capacity -building;
d. Develop appropriate safety procedures based on programme area D, taking account of ethical considerations.
Means of implementation

(a) Financing and cost evaluation

16.26. The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total annual cost (1993 -2000) of implementing the activities of this programme to be about $1 billion, including about $10 million from the internatio nal community on grant or concessional 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
16.27. The activities for this programme area will increase the demand for trained personnel. Support for existing training programmes needs to be increased, for example, at the university and technical institute level, as well as the exchange of trained personnel between countries and regions. New and additional training programmes also need to be developed, fo r example, for technical and support personnel. There is also an urgent need to improve the level of understanding of biological principles and their policy implications among decision makers in Governments, and financial and other institutions.

(d) Capacity-building
16.28. Relevant institutions will need to have the responsibility for undertaking, and the capacity (political, financial and workforce) to undertake, the above -mentioned activities and to be dynamic in response to new biotechnological developments (see programme area E).

See paras. 16.23 -16.25 above.

D. Enhancing safety and developing international mechanisms for cooperation

Basis for action

16.29. There is a need for further development of internationally agreed principles on r isk assessment and management of all aspects of biotechnology, which should build upon those developed at the national level. Only when adequate and transparent safety and border -control procedures are in place will the community at large be able to derive maximum benefit from, and be in a much better position to accept the potential benefits and risks of, biotechnology. Several fundamental principles could underlie many of these safety procedures, including primary consideration of the organism, building on the principle of familiarity, applied in a flexible framework, taking into account national requirements and recognizing that the logical progression is to start with a step -by-step and case-by- case approach, but also recognizing that experience has show n that in many instances a more comprehensive approach should be used, based on the experiences of the first period, leading, inter alia, to streamlining and categorizing; complementary consideration of risk assessment and risk management; and classificati on into contained use or release to the environment.

Objectives

16.30. The aim of this programme area is to ensure safety in biotechnology development, application, exchange and transfer through international agreement on principles to be applied on risk asse ssment and management, with particular reference to health and environmental considerations, including the widest possible public participation and taking account of ethical considerations.

Activities

16.31. The proposed activities for this programme area cal l for close international cooperation. They should build upon planned or existing activities to accelerate the environmentally sound application of biotechnology, especially in developing countries.

(a) Management-related activities

16.32. Governments at the appropriate level, with the support of relevant international and regional organizations, the private sector, non -governmental organizations and academic and scientific institutions, should:
a. Make the existing safety procedures widely available by collecti ng the existing information and adapting it to the specific needs of different countries and regions;
b. Further develop, as necessary, the existing safety procedures to promote scientific development and categorization in the areas of risk assessment and ri sk management (information requirements; databases; procedures for assessing risks and conditions of release; establishment of safety conditions; monitoring and inspections, taking account of ongoing national, regional and international initiatives and avo iding duplication wherever possible);
c. Compile, update and develop compatible safety procedures into a framework of internationally agreed principles as a basis for guidelines to be applied on safety in biotechnology, including consideration of the need fo r and feasibility of an international agreement, and promote information exchange as a basis for further development, drawing on the work already undertaken by international or other expert bodies;
d. Undertake training programmes at the national and regiona l levels on the application of the proposed technical guidelines;
e. Assist in exchanging information about the procedures required for safe handling and risk management and about the conditions of release of the products of biotechnology, and cooperate in providing immediate assistance in cases of emergencies that may arise in conjunction with the use of biotechnology products.
(b) Data and information*
(c) International and regional cooperation and coordination
16.33. Governments at the appropriate level , with the support of the relevant international and regional organizations, should raise awareness of the relative benefits and risks of biotechnology.
16.34. Further activities should include the following (see also para. 16.32):
a. Organizing one or more regional meetings between countries to identify further practical steps to facilitate international cooperation in bio -safety;
b. Establishing an international network incorporating national, regional and global contact points;
c. Providing direct assistance upon request through the international network, using information networks, databases and information procedures;
d. Considering the need for and feasibility of internationally agreed guidelines on safety in biotechnology releases, including risk assessment and risk management, and considering studying the feasibility of guidelines which could facilitate national legislation on liability and compensation.

See paras. 16.32 and 16.33.

Means of implementation
(a) Financing and cost evalua tion

16.35. The UNCED secretariat has estimated the average total annual cost (1993 -2000) of implementing the activities of this programmes to be about $2 million from the international community on grant or concessional 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*

(d) Capacity-building
16.36. Adequate international technical and financial assistance should be provided and technical cooperation to developing countries facilitated in order to bui ld up technical, managerial, planning and administrative capacities at the national level to support the activities in this programme area (see also programme area E).

E. Establishing enabling mechanisms for the development and the environmentally sound application of biotechnology
Basis for action

16.37. The accelerated development and application of biotechnologies, particularly in developing countries, will require a major effort to build up institutional capacities at the national and regional levels. In developing countries, enabling factors such as training capacity, know -how, research and development facilities and funds, industrial building capacity, capital (including venture capital) protection of intellectual property rights, and expertise in areas including marketing research, technology assessment, socio -economic assessment and safety assessment are frequently inadequate. Efforts will therefore need to be made to build up capacities in these and other areas and to match such efforts with appropriat e levels of financial support. There is therefore a need to strengthen the endogenous capacities of developing countries by means of new international initiatives to support research in order to speed up the development and application of both new and conventional biotechnologies to serve the needs of sustainable development at the local, national and regional levels. National mechanisms to allow for informed comment by the public with regard to biotechnology research and application should be part of the process.

See para. 16.32.

16.38. Some activities at the national, regional and global levels already address the issues outlined in programme areas A, B, C and D, as well as the provisioin of advice to individual countries on the development of national guidelines and systems for the implementation of those guidelines. These activities are generally uncoordinated, however, involving many different organizations, priorities, constituencies, time-scales, funding sources and resource constraints. There is a need for a much more cohesive and coordinated approach to harness available resources in the most effective manner. As with most new technologies, research in biotechnology and the application of its findings could have significant positive and negative socio-economic as well as cultural impacts. These impacts should be carefully identified in the earliest phases of the development of biotechnology in order to enable appropriate management of the consequences of transferring biotechnology.

Objectives

16.39. The objectives are as follows:
a. To promote the development and application of biotechnologies, with special emphasis on developing countries, by:
i. Enhancing existing efforts at the national, regional and global levels;
ii. Providing the necessary support for biotechnology, particularly research and product development, at the national, regional and international levels;
iii. Raising public awareness regarding the relative beneficial aspects of and risks related to biotechnology, to contribute to sustainable development;
iv. Helping to create a favourable climate for investments, industrial capacity- building and distribution/marketing;
v. Encouraging the exchange of scientists among all countries and discouraging the "brain drain";
vi. Recognizing and fostering the traditional methods and knowledge of indigenous peoples and their communities and ensuring the opportunity for their participation in the economic and commercial benefits arising from developments in biotechnology; 9/
b. To identify ways and means of enhancing current efforts, building wherever possible on existing enabling mechanisms, particularly regional, to determine the precise nature of the needs for additional initiatives, particularly in respect of developing countries, and to develop appropriate response strategies, including proposals for any new international mechanisms;
c. To establish or adapt appropriate mechanisms for safety appraisal and risk assessment at the local, regional and international levels, as appropriate.
Activities

Page 20 of 41