In South Africa
BooksCritical overview of South Africa’s Bioprospecting lawsBiosafety in South Africa - Books
In this booklet, we provide an overview of the core provisions of the legislative framework governing bioprospecting, access and benefit sharing in South Africa. In particular, we highlight the lack of opportunity for public participation by civil society in the bioprospecting permitting process, problems with accessing information, issues relating to the restricted appeal process, and the apparent conflict between the bioprospecting laws and apartheid provincial legislation. These themes are discussed against the backdrop of the ACB’s experiences as an NGO seeking to engage in bioprospecting permitting processes on its own behalf or on behalf of affected communities.
The GM stacked gene revolution: A biosafety nightmareBiosafety in South Africa - Books Stacked GMOs are those containing more than one gene genetically engineered into a crop plant. A controversial stacked GMO, Smarstax containing 8 such genetically engineered genes, was commercially approved in the US, Canada, Japan and South Korea during 2009. Stacked gene varieties are highly complex, posing new biosafety risks that outpace the capacity of regulatory systems. Since 2005 the global area under stacked GMOs has nearly trebled, to just under 30 million ha. If this rate of adoption continues, an area the size of Mozambique could be planted with them by 2015. Their research, development and ownership is also dominated by a handful of the world's largest biotech companies. This drive for stacked GMOs is ostensibly for 'climate ready' crops to improve 'food security' and 'climate adaptation'. However, the increased profit margins of stacked GMOs, and the opportunities they will afford for the unprecedented patenting of lifeforms hints at an altogether more insidious motivation. A profile of Monsanto in South AfricaBiosafety in South Africa - Books Monsanto is a globally dominant company in the agrochemical, seed and agricultural biotechnology sector. It has been active in the agrochemicals market in South Africa since 1968, and now owns almost all traits used in the South African GM crop market. Thanks to the purchase of local seed companies, Sensako and Carnia, in the late 1990s the multinational now accounts for an estimated 40% of the grain seed market in South Africa. South African GMO Biohazard MapsBiosafety in South Africa - Books GMO trials in South Africa in 2007 : Who is doing what and where?
Questions around GMO field trials in South Africa continue to be asked – where exactly arethey happening, when will there be adequate environmental risk assessment and post–releasemonitoring, what are the effects on neighbours of GMO field trials and what are the cumulativeaffects of all the field trials that have happened in South Africa? Within this context, the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has sought to place more informationin the public domain and highlight some of the issues around GMO field trials in South Africa.In January 2007, a briefing document Field trials of GMOs: who is doing what and wherein South Africa was produced. This was a focus on field trials that occurred in 2006. A GMOBiohazard Map of South Africa was also produced.In November 2007, data for field trials as well as medical clinical trials for the year was obtainedfrom the Department of Agriculture using the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). Anoverview of these GMO trials is provided in this document with details of the field trials on theupdated GMO Biohazard Map. More Articles...Page 1 of 2 |
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