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Safety in Biotechnology to be discussed in ASEAN Workshop

The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), in cooperation with Cambodia’s Ministry of the Environment will host a workshop on “Risk Assessment of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) / Living Modified Organisms (LMOs) and Enforcement of Biosafety Regulations” from June 22 to 24 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

The three-day workshop will provide a venue for sharing up-to-date scientific information on biosafety and risk assessment, enhancing national and regional capacity to address biosafety issues, and strengthening cooperation in the ASEAN region.

Experts from the Canadian Ministry of Environment, the Federal Environment Agency of Austria, the Third World Network, the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat, and the ASEAN Secretariat will serve as technical speakers and facilitators. The participants will include those technical experts involved in regulatory assessment and biosafety compliance activities from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam,

Biosafety is the term coined to describe efforts to reduce potential risks from biotechnology and its products such as GMOs and LMOs. It was identified as a critical issue by the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) in 1992. Years later, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was adopted in 2000 to ensure that while maximum benefits are reaped from biotechnologies, adequate safety measures will be in place to guard against possible risks to humans and the environment.

“Since ASEAN member-countries are mostly developing nations which have limited technical and scientific staff who can implement biosafety regulations and assess risks involved with GMOs and LMOs, this workshop is both timely and necessary,” said Rodrigo Fuentes, executive director of the European Union-funded ACB, an intergovernmental regional center of excellence that actively promotes knowledge sharing and capacity building among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam are in the process of developing or implementing their biosafety frameworks, policies, and laws. “The workshop will promote a better understanding of the Cartagena Protocol’s biosafety provisions, and provide these countries an opportunity to discuss their respective National Biosecurity Strategies,” Fuentes said.

According to the CBD, risk assessment should be conducted in a scientifically sound and transparent manner, taking into consideration the expert advice of and guidelines developed by relevant organizations.

“In the case of ASEAN member-countries, they can conduct risk assessment with the end goal of identifying needs for risk management and the most appropriate methods to be implemented through the ACB. Results of the assessment will then be used to enforce appropriate biosafety regulations and ensure environmental and human safety of GMOs and LMOs. Through this, they can also give the public confidence in GMO products like certain drugs, vaccines, and food products.” Fuentes said.

For more information on the workshop and on ACB, please contact (+6349) 536-2865 and (+6349) 536-1044, e-mail contact.us@aseanbiodiversity.org, or visit www.aseanbioversity.org/risk_assessment.