Environment and Sustainable Development: Implications of Biosafety
Annual Call for Projects 2001
Summary
a) Biosafety and its socio-economic implications
This research project on biosafety will focus on issues raised by the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety signed in January 2000 in Montreal. The Cartagena Protocol is an important link in the implementation of instruments seeking to protect biodiversity from potential risks brought about by the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It is based on the precautionary principle and provides the introduction of safety norms during transport, use and disposal of GMOs regulated in the Protocol. It authorises importing countries to prohibit the entry of GMOs in cases where information concerning the risks to human health is either incomplete or insufficient. The question of biosafety concerns various areas of the law. First, the conservation and use of biological and genetic resources is regulated in various international environmental law instruments. Second, a number of relevant rules for the management of GMOs are contained in international trade law, in particular in WTO norms.
b) Research programme
The precautionary principle (Rio Declaration Principle 15) is today one of the basic tenets of sustainable development. It is, however, the subject of important debates and raises a number of contradictions which will be analysed in depth in the context of the current project. The implementation of the precautionary principle has far-reaching repercussions for all human societies. It is intricately linked to decision-making processes seeking a participatory approach where the roles of citizens, experts, and more generally, all stakeholders, must be redefined.
c) Case studies
Three case studies will be undertaken to illustrate and further analyse some of the central principles of the Cartagena Protocol, and to examine the implementation of these principles and rules in practice.
1) Interactions with the scientific community
With a view to establishing a dialogue between social science and natural science researchers, the project team will establish a partnership centred around a case study concerning transgenic organisms to better understand researchers' perceptions and the level of social acceptance of their research results. This will be undertaken in collaboration with the Station fédérale de recherche agronomique de Changins, in Switzerland.
2) Case study "food security and intellectual property rights issues"
A case study undertaken in collaboration with the Geneva Environment Network will focus on the link between food security and intellectual property rights.
3) Case study on capacity-building
The Cartagena Protocol emphasises the need for capacity building. The project team will therefore undertake to establish the current status and future needs for capacity building in the field of biosafety at the international level.
d) Methodology and partnerships
Biosafety issues are of interest to various public, private, local, national and international actors. Potential partners are therefore numerous. An interdisciplinary research team from the Graduate Institute of Development Studies and other institutions involved in the project will establish partnerships with other research groups focusing on biosafety with a view to building up a network.
e) Outputs
The project seeks to:
• Publish its research results and other information through various media (in particular its website);
• Publish discussion papers constituting the basis for Ecodialogues (policy dialogues);
• Develop a web-based teaching module in the context of the SUPPREM (virtual campus) project;
• Publish a book summarising the main findings of the project.
For more information, visit the web site of the Biosafety Interdisciplinary Network (RIBios) http://www.ribios.ch.
The grant provided by the GIAN for this project totals SFr 438,000
Project Team
Prof. Andràs November , Coordinator, Graduate Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) .
Ms Barbara Bordogna-Petriccione , Co-coordinator, Biosafety Interdisciplinary Network (RIBios) , Graduate Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) .
Mr Marc Audétat , Principal Member, Institute for political and international studies (IEPI) , Faculty of Social and Political Science (SSP) , University of Lausanne .
Mr Philippe Cullet , Principal Member, Biosafety Interdisciplinary Network (RIBios) , Graduate Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) .
Mr Aniket Ghai , Principal Member, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) .
Prof. Mark Hunyadi , Principal Member, Biosafety Interdisciplinary Network (RIBios) , Graduate Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) .
Mr Alain Kaufmann , Principal Member, Science-Society Interface , University of Lausanne .
Ms Pia Malnoe , Principal Member, Agroscope Changins-Wädenswil Research Station (ACW) , Swiss Confederation .
Mr Horace Perret , Associated Member, Biosafety Interdisciplinary Network (RIBios) , Graduate Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) .
Mr Marie-Alice Quezada , Associated Member, Biosafety Interdisciplinary Network (RIBios) , Graduate Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) .
Mr Ezra Ricci , Associated Member, Biosafety Interdisciplinary Network (RIBios) , Graduate Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) .
Mr Mirko Saam , Associated Member, Biosafety Interdisciplinary Network (RIBios) , Graduate Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) .
Mr Urs Thomas , Associated Member, Departement of Public International Law (INPUB) , Faculty of Law , University of Geneva (Unige) .
Mr Pascal Van Griethuysen , Associated Member, Graduate Institute of Development Studies (GIDS) .
Related Links
> RIBios , for more information, visit the web site of the Biosafety Interdisciplinary Network (RIBios).
Research Output
|
RIBios Paper Book: Publications on GMOs
(available in English and French) > more |
|
Biosafety: Stakes and Legal Frameworks (Papers)
(available in English and French) > more |
|
GMOs - The Uses of Safety, European Review of Social Sciences, Vilfredo Pareto Paper Book, Part XLII, n° 130
> more |