Companion Publication Biotechnology and Sustainable Development

Preface  

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The International Council for Science (ICSU) and the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO) were invited by the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development to represent the Scientific and Technological Community during the preparatory process of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). The Summit will be held in Johannesburg, South Africa, from August 26 to September 4, 2002.

One of the issues for consideration at the Summit is the identification of ways to access the results and benefits arising from the applications of biotechnology for sustainable development, while ensuring ethical standards and safety of their use.

To address this issue, ICSU’s Advisory Committee on Genetic Experimentation and Biotechnology (ACOGEB) commissioned an analysis of the present status of the applications of biotechnology to agriculture, the emerging scientific trends, and their contributions and consequences for human health, biodiversity and other components of the environment.

The ACOGEB members who initiated the study were Drs Richard Roberts (former ACOGEB Chair), Oscar Grau, Anne McLaren, Jim Peacock, and Marc van Montagu (current ACOGEB Chair). This report is completed by an ACOGEB-commissioned meta review of science-based reviews of the issues involved in genetically modified foods and crops, which have been undertaken by various national, international and private agencies over the past few years. 

Dr Gabrielle Persley, and the UK-based Doyle Foundation, has taken the responsibility for the coordination and preparation of this report and the meta review. We thank also Drs Per Pinstrup Andersen, Andrew Bennett, Sylvia Burssens, Marc Cohen, Cuberto Gaza, Brian Johnson, Larry Kohler, Reginald MacIntyre, John Komen, Rohini Rao and Carthage Smith for their contributions of key source documents and their helpful comments during the preparation of this report. The technical assistance of Margaret Macdonald-Levy and John Schiller in bringing the report to completion is gratefully acknowledged.

We trust that this report will make a helpful contribution to the discussion on ways to improve the interactions amongst science, society and the natural world.

Professor THOMAS ROSSWALL, Executive Director, ICSU
Professor MARC VAN MONTAGU, Chair, ICSU Advisory Committee on Genetic Experimentation and Biotechnology