© Edgar DaSilva, 2006

Biotechnology: Issues in Asia

Dr. Edgar DaSilva, Visiting Professor [Japan and South Africa]Former Director, Division of Life Sciences,UNESCO, Paris, France

BiotechnologyIssues in Asia The new emerging geographical (bioresource) power base

of the growing global reliance on bioeconomics

Biotechnology –one of the 4 new empowering technologies

Sustainable Development emerging from use of ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just, and culturally appropriate policies and practices

Biotechnology and Globalization impact on Asian Bioeconomic Development through their dual faced aspects

PRELIMINARY PAPER

The Last Hunters Become the First Farmers

© Edgar DaSilva, 2003 -2006

Mobile Hunter Gatherers

Cultivators –Hunters

Sedentary Foragers

Mobile Foragers

Early globalizing agriculture, farmers and the expansion of their Languages

Pictogram shows 4main areas (blue) from where agriculture spread ; 10 major areas (red) of cultivated crop plant diversity, and minor regions (yellow) updating pioneering work of the Russian botanist Nikolai Vavilov (1887-1943).

Source: Diamond, J. and Bellwood, P. (2003), Farmers and their languages: The First Expansions, Science Vol.300 25 AprilSource: In South Sea Trouble by Bryan Sykes, News Review, The Sunday Times, May 27, 2001

Biotechnology in Encyclopaedias of Stone

Issues

• Governance• Bioremediation• Biosafety and Biosecurity• Gender - Feminization of Agriculture• Intellectual property rights• Poverty restriction • Public Involvement

GOVERNANCEOverlapping International Agreements

1992 Convention on Biological Diversity; EIF Dec 93

UPOV 91; EIF Apr 98

1994 WTO TRIPS;EIF Jan 95

2001 FAO International

Treaty;not IF

Source: Overlapping International Agreements –Fernando LaTorre. FIELD. [www.unctad.org.trade_.env/test1/meetings/nairobi/IPRs%20and%20BIODIVERSITY%20FINAL%20S.ppt]

Linkages

ITPGRFA

TRIPS

UPOV

CBD

WIPO?Source: Overlapping International Agreements –Fernando LaTorre. FIELD. [www.unctad.org.trade_env/test1/meetings/nairobi/IPRs%20and%20BIODIVERSITY%20FINAL%20S.ppt

GOVERNANCE

Governance: Biosafety in Central Asia

KazakhstanKyrgyzstanTajikistan

TurkmenistanUzbekistan

Source of table:http://www.ias.unu.edu/binaries/UNUIAS_CentralAsia2ndEd.pdf

Bioremediation Is the Application of biological organisms tosolve an environmental problem

En brefThe collective range of clean up methods using natural microorganism (such as bacteria, plants, fungi, etc.) to degrade hazardous organic contaminants or convert hazardous inorganic contaminants to environmentally less toxic or nontoxic compounds of safe levels in soils, subsurface materials, water, sludges, and residues.

Source: cosmos.ucdavis.edu/2003/cluster%207%20copy/Tina%20Yu-%20Bioremediation/Tina-Bioremediatio-PART%201.ppt

Examples of biobased biodegradable products

Source: http://www.eesi.org/briefings/Pre2003/04.22.02.brf.htm

Beyond Fossil Fuels To Novel Biofuels

‘Thirty years of research have produced a range of new technologies that can help turn abundant energy sources — wind, biomass, solar, even water itself — into

alternative fuels’ -By ROBERT B. SEMPLE JR. Published: October 11, 2006Source: http://select.nytimes.com/2006/10/11/opinion/11talkingpoints.html

Beyond Fossil Fuels to Microbial Fuel Cells

Source: Lovley, D.R. [2006]. Microbial Energizers Fuel Cells That Keep On Going, Microbe, Vol.1:323-329

Biosafety and Biosecurity• Biosecurity

is preparedness against the

biocriminal and intentional use

of deadly pathogenic organisms to

instill bioterrorism, anticrop warfare

and biowarfare in undermining food

security and national economic

security and development

• Biosafety

concerns :

1. Welfare of personnel engaged

in work with pathogenic organisms

and

2.Fears fuelled by ethical and health

considerations resulting from the

use of GMOs and GM products

Biosafety [1] - Four Levels • BSL 1: Material not known to consistently cause

disease in healthy adults.

• BSL 2: Associated with human disease arising from percutaneous injury, ingestion, or mucous membrane exposure.

• BSL 3: Exotic agents with potential for aerosol transmission; disease may have lethal effects

• BSL 4: Viral agents with high risk of life-threatening disease, aerosol-transmitted lab infections; related agents with unknown risk of transmission.

Dioxin from the Factory to the Dinner Table

Biosafety Source:ww

w.angelfire.com

/oh2/twooz4m

e/page2.html

The Second Green Revolution

CONCERNS result from:

♦ Occurrence, spread and ignorance of Mad Cow Disease inEurope

♦ Reported occurrence of chemical dioxin in foods ,soft drinks

♦ Sludge in animal food

♦ Inclusion of GM food for animals in food for humans (tortillas)

♦ Concentration of seed companiesin a few hands ♦ Source: Extract from FAO/WHO Consultation (5 –19

November, Geneva, 1990) Report:Strategies for assessing thesafety of Food produced by biotechnology WHO, Geneva, 1991; http(http://www.who.int/fsf/GMfood/).

GMOs : Politics and Concerns

The POLITICS involves:

♦ confusing terminology that is politically charged such as :

“biotechnology” ;“modern biotechnology”

“genetically modified foods” [GMFs]; “Frankenstein foods”

“GMO”, “genetically modified organisms”;

“genetically engineered [GE] foods”; “genetically enhanced foods”

Source:GMO_05/4HistoryPrevalenceGeneticallyModifiedOrganisms.

GMO - Benefits

A cholera vaccineproduced in a plantcould be given to a child at a cost of 80cents compared to normal treatment costing R500--- Professor Jennifer Thomson,Cape Town, South AfricaSource:Africa.com, August 30 2005;

•This new technology is what Africa needs to overcome famine and give us food for security. The small-scale farmer, like myself, is not only a producer, but also an on –the – spot consumer

--- Sabina Khoza, Secretary-General, National African Farmers’ Union, 2005;

Source:Africa.com, August 30 2005

1) A legacy of national development in gender diversity and equality and conservation of biodiversity

2) A benefit “from diverse groups of people who incorporate a variety of backgrounds, ideas, values and personalities” in ”Leading and Learning through diversity “ for national development

Building Biocoalitions in Biotechnology

Through Policies and Issues, Conservation of Biodiversity and “Meeting of the Minds” in ensuring the best for humankind and its future generations-Adapted from cover of The Scientist, 7 November, 2005

A giant "NO" cut into a cornfield in Mexico by Greenpeace activists protesting against

genetically modified crops

Source: Picture Gallery , 9 October, 2006, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Things to Know About GMOs♦ We have used GM foods forthousands of years

♦The earliest farmers saved seeds of the best plants for thenext growing season thusunknowingly selecting plantswith the more desirable genes and laying the foundations of the first germplasm collections

Assyrian mural from 870 BC

showing palm pollination

→

Sources: Genes and Our Food -Past, present and futuredevacaf.caes.uga.edu/main/lessonPlan/geneAndFood.ppt; Production of “unheard fruits and blossoms that may be summoned out of now-existence” - - - H.G. Wells, 1933

Biosafety in Central ,South and Southeast Asia

Sources : map - http://flagspot.net/flags/g(asia.html; http:www.ias.unu.(edu/binaries/UNUIAS_CentralAsia2ndEd.pdf; UNESCO Bangkok :Biosafety Regulations in Asia-Pacific (http:www.unescobkk.org/indexph?iid=2803)

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● --Laws, Regulations ands Rules, National Committees [Central Asian countries, Brunei, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka]● --Draft Biosafety and Biodiversity Acts, Biosafety Guidelines, National Committees [Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Pakistan]● -- Draft Laws and Guidelines for the management , use and release of GMOS; Biosafety guidelines [Malaysia, Indonesia]● --Biosafety guidelines on research on GMOS; Specialized Genetic Engineering Committees, GM imports, [China, India, Korea (s), Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand]● -- Information on Biosafety not available or very rudimentary[Afghanistan, East Timor, Malidves]

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The Dark Side of Biotechnology

Easy access to deadly disease-producing agents

Low production costs

Non-detection by routine security systems

Easy transportation given their virtual weightlessness

Academic excellence misused for biocriminal use

Need for University courses with focus on Biosafety and Biosecurity

UN: BWTC

Biosecurity

BioSecurity and Food Security• A state of where all people always have safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life

• A problem for 700 million people in the next decade :-Sustainable food production and availability

-Economic/physical access to food supplies

-Nutritional security: [in] adequate protein, energy, micronutrients, minerals

•Food security in developing countries must not come to depend on surpluses from the industrialised countries, or worse, food aid.Source:FAO, Rome, 1996; World Food Summit,1996; Novartis Foundation, 1998

© Edgar DaSilva, 2002.

The Feminization of AgricultureBy the Fruit of their labours in farm land work African women who perform the bulk of the work throughout the sub-Saharan African continent empower the spirit of entrepreneurialism in advancing agro-biotechnology in Africa.

Picture showsUgandan women sifting rusks by hand

Source: TIME, September,25, 2006

IPRs in Central Asia● --Biorepositories of traditional knowledge concerning traditional medicine, pasture management, and inMongolia dairyfermentations using mare’s milk

•All countries have national patent laws and policies for regulation of access to protect traditional knowledge and management of bioresources

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Sources : map - http://flagspot.net/flags/g(asia.html; http:www.ias.unu.(edu/binaries/UNUIAS_CentralAsia2ndEd.pdf

Number of Patents in Developing CountriesInset box : Asian countries

Adapted from basic source: //www.biotechnologyhealthcare.com/journal/fulltext/3/1/BH0301055.pdf

Is Biotechnology Of Relevance to Population and Poverty?

• 1 Billion People in the Developed World, United States, Europe, Japan– Increase in disposable income– Enhanced social injustice– Improved standard of living

• 2 Billion People in Developing Countries are integrated into the globaleconomy, i.e. China, India, Thailand, Brazil, South Africa

– Stable governments (good economic policy)– Skilled Middle-class Human capital– Infrastructure– Visionary leadership

• 3 Billion People in poor countries left behind or forgotten– Political instability (poor economic policies)– Poor or no infrastructure– Lack of human capital– No natural resources

Concentrations of World Populations

50% of world population in RED are as inside this circleanother 25% in RED areas outside the circle

remaining population in blue areas (in and out of circle)

Source: 2001 Outlook Situation in Asia (www.usasean.org/ASEANOverview/aem/2001/food&agpresentation.ppt)

POVERTY = The Geography and Arithmetic of Hunger

• The Geography of hunger in the Northern hemisphere results from lack of vacancies in the biotech labour market wherein corporate loyalty is being replaced by situational loyalty and personal needs

© Edgar DaSilva, 2006

Sources: Extracted from Trivedi B.P. (2006). Are we producing too many scientists?, The Scientist, Viol 20 (9): 42-48; see also Gallagher, R. (2006). Editorial-Are we producing too many scientists?, The Scientist, Vol 20 (9): 13

POVERTY = The Geography and Arithmetic of Hunger

• The Geography of hunger in the Southernhemisphere results from:

• debt, fiscal and physical inaccessibility to food markets, population growth, war, political and trade instability, prevalence of disease and corruption in local governance

© Edgar DaSilva, 2006

Main Issues of Public Interest or Concern

Environmental safety ----reduction inbiodiversity and susceptibility to disease

Food safety --- modified crops and animals–are they safe to eat?

Ethical and moral issues---interference with Nature by genetic engineering

Regulatory issues ---risk management and protection—are these sufficient or too much?

Social and economic issues--- monopolization of new foods by the MNCs

• The PRINCIPLE OF PRECAUTION that may inhibit innovation in research development in biotechnology through presupposition of presumed risks

• The PRINCIPLE OF SUBSTANTIAL EQUIVALENCE that implies that no further safety assessment is required

• The PRINCIPLE OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS that within international trade governance protects the value of traditional national biodiversity global genetic resources

Principles of Collaboration in Biotechnology -1

Adapted from: Kinderierer , J. and Adcock, M. (2005). Agricultural Biotechnology, Politics, Ethics and Policy, pgs 71 – 112; In Biotechnology, Agriculture, and Food Security in Southern Africa, Eds. Omano, S.W. and von Grebmer, K. 2005, pgs 297, IFPRI (Washington, DC, USA) and FANPRAN (Harare, Zimbabwe).

• The PRINCIPLE OF JUSTICE that ensures that benefits of R & Dfavour neither the rich nor discriminate against the poor

• The PRINCIPLE OF GENERAL WELFARE that governs optimal use of worldwide bioresources in preserving the environment andsustainable technology use in all countries

• The PRINCIPLE OF BIOETHICS that emerges from interaction between humankind and the environment as a result of developments in the life sciences and the biotechnologies

Principles of Collaboration in Biotechnology -2

Adapted from: Kinderierer , J. and Adcock, M. (2005). Agricultural Biotechnology, Politics, Ethics and Policy, pgs 71 – 112; In Biotechnology, Agriculture, and Food Security in Southern Africa, Eds. Omano, S.W. and von Grebmer, K. 2005, pgs 297, IFPRI (Washington, DC, USA) and FANPRAN (Harare, Zimbabwe).

Current Status of Biotechnology in the Asia-Pacific Region

• Development of its biotechnology capacity: from the mid 1980s

• Bioresource-rich but technology-poor in general

• Heavy involvement of the public sector: marginal participation of the private sector

• Agrobiotechnology-oriented

• Limited funding inspite of skilled humanpower resourceswww.apctt.org/BINASIA_aug_2004.ppt

Crop Biotechnology Products for the Future

New Products

1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Agronomic traits

Food Processing

BioPharmaceuticals

Speciality Chemicals

Green Electricity and Fuels

Molecular Food

Medicinal Foods and Vaccines

Biometrics for Biosafety and Biosecurity

Source: Adapted from : Kern, M. and Rainier, J. (2004). Aspects of the Future of Agrotechnologies—In: Biotechnological advances and Applications in Bioconversion of Renewable Raw Materials, publ. – GBF and Inwent, Braunschweig, Germany, pgs.38 -50

Asia -The Emerging Giant in Biotechnology

Asia begins the 21st Century with

• Highly skilled human resources andPurchasing Power

• High middle-class segment growth:

• Young population

• High domestic saving ratesCited from:www.bctia.org/files/Presentations_03_04/Andrew_Gilkes_Handout_Jan_2004.ppt

Asian Biotech Markets

The Cornerstones of Policies in Biotechnology

Source:http://www.pub.ac.za/resources/docs/present_pub2003.pdf

Conclusions• Science Doesn’t Answer Immediately All Consumer Concerns

•Risks must be acceptable given that falling in love or crossing a road are full of risks

• Benefits must be tangible and equitable since what is touchable is always memorable

• Technology applications should be evaluated in a broader political and social context

• Time, transparency, experience, and dialogue respectful of values in a democratic society must let people to be informed and choose – even if “irrational” at the moment of choice

Conclusions - Wheat Through the Ages

Wild Wheat -Hunter- Gatherers

Einkorn Wheat -Fertile Crescent staple crop*

Emmer Wheat -Starch wheat

Spaghetti Wheat -Noodle wheat

Bread wheat -Durum wheat, large grains, flexible

Biotech wheat -Gene-engineered wheat

*Natural hybridization with wild grass Aegilops squarrosa to give emmer wheat -Triticum turgidum –the first GMO or GMFood?

© Edgar DaSilva, 2003

Conclusions -Wheat- Staff of Life through the Ages

Type Period Species RemarksBiotech 2000 AD Gene- Wheat thatwheat* engineered produces its

Triticum own pesticideaestivum against insects,

pests, herbs, etc

*index of globalization

© Edgar DaSilva, 2003

**

** reproduced with permission

Thank you for your attention.