At the 9th Regular Session of FAO`s Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), held on 14-18 October 2002 at FAO Headquarters, Rome, the Commission considered a report on "The status of the draft Code of Conduct on Biotechnology as it relates to genetic resources for food and agriculture: report on surveys of FAO Members and stakeholders". The report presents the result of surveys conducted in 2000, among FAO Members and a wide range of relevant stakeholders throughout the world, inviting them to provide comments or advice on the existing preliminary draft Code of Conduct on Biotechnology (presented in 1993). See document 9/02/18 at http://www.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/docs9.htm (available in Arabic, Chinese, English, Spanish and French). Background Study Paper 17 was also prepared for the CGRFA, entitled "Recent developments related to biotechnology that are relevant to the analysis of the survey on the Code of Conduct" (ftp://ext-ftp.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/BSP/bsp17e.pdf - 390 KB). The paper provides some perspectives on a selection of recent advances and relates them to the draft Code of Conduct on Biotechnology. For more information, contact [email protected] .

A study entitled "Opportunities for incorporating genetic elements into the management of farm animal diseases: policy issues", co-authored by S. Bishop, M. de Jong and D. Gray, prepared by FAO`s Animal Production and Health Division, was put at the disposition of FAO`s Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) for its 9th Regular Session held on 14-18 October 2002 at FAO Headquarters, Rome. The document considers the opportunities for utilising quantitative and molecular genetics as additional tools in the strategies aimed at achieving sustainable disease management, and also considers needs and policy issues, in an epidemiological context. Current information on the costs to countries of animal disease and on the inheritance of many diseases is also provided. It is available at ftp://ext-ftp.fao.org/ag/cgrfa/BSP/bsp18e.pdf (616 KB) or contact [email protected] to request a copy.

This 208-page Spanish book on global food security, entitled "La Seguridad Alimentaria Mundial Primeras décadas del siglo XXI. El papel de la FAO y el PMA", and written in April 2002 by Ignacio Trueba, is a general study on development, providing an analysis of hunger and poverty in the world and considering the role of FAO and the World Food Programme. Pages 77-82 consider agricultural biotechnology. See http://waicent.fao.org/country/espana/publicaciones/prologo.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.

The Aarhus Convention (i.e. the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Convention on Access to Information, Public Participation in Decision-making and Access to Justice in Environmental Matters) was adopted in June 1998 in Aarhus, Denmark. It is "not only an environmental agreement, it is also a Convention about government accountability, transparency and responsiveness. The Aarhus Convention grants the public rights and imposes on Parties and public authorities obligations regarding access to information and public participation and access to justice". Since adoption of the Convention, five tasks forces and working groups have been established, one of them on genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The third and last meeting of this working group was held on 17-19 June 2002 in Geneva, Switzerland. The report of this, and the other, meetings is available at http://www.unece.org/env/pp/gmo.htm (in English, French and Russian) or contact [email protected] for more information.

At its annual general meeting held on 28 October - 1 November 2002 in Manila, The Philippines, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) approved the launching of two "Challenge Programs" (i.e. time-bound, independently-governed programs of high impact research), one of which is entitled "Biofortified crops for improved human nutrition". See the proposal at http://www.cgiar.org/pdf/biofortification.pdf (68 pages) or contact [email protected] for more information.

This 322-page book, entitled "World Water and Food to 2025: Dealing with Scarcity", is written by M.W. Rosegrant, X. Cai and S.A. Cline and published jointly by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). It considers how policymakers and water users can manage this scarce resource. The role of biotechnology in crop breeding is discussed in pages 187-188. See http://www.ifpri.org/media/water2025.htm to access the book (as well as a shorter report) or contact [email protected] for more information.

The International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR) organised a meeting entitled "Next harvest: Advancing biotechnology`s public good" on 7-9 October 2002 at ISNAR Headquarters, The Hague, Netherlands. The meeting focused specifically on GM crop research conducted by public sector institutes in the developing world and the meeting report, by M. Luijben and J.I. Cohen, is now available. See http://www.isnar.cgiar.org/ibs/NextHarvest.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.

The final report of the expert consultation meeting on "Public agricultural research: the impact of intellectual property rights on biotechnology in developing countries", held on 24-27 June 2002 in Rome, Italy, is now available. The meeting was organised by FAO in co-operation with the University of Tor Vergata. Experts from biotechnology research institutions in Argentina, Brazil, China, Cuba, India, Mexico, The Philippines, South Africa and Zimbabwe attended, as well as representatives from the World Bank, the World Intellectual Property Organization, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, the International Service for National Agricultural Research, The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center, the interim Science Council of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, USDA, the Ministry of Agriculture of the Netherlands, the Rockefeller Foundation and the private sector. The 8-page report includes sections on i) setting the scene: identification of constraints, needs and opportunities within public sector research institutions ii) policy issues at institutional, national and international levels and iii) identifying strategies to strengthen public sector biotechnology research for ensuring food security and poverty alleviation. It then concludes with six main recommendations. See http://www.fao.org/biotech/docs/torvergatareport.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.

The latest issue (1 and 2, 2002) of BINAS News, from the Biosafety Information Network and Advisory Service (BINAS) of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), includes three articles as well as sections on news items and upcoming events. See http://binas.unido.org/binas/binasnews/bn1_2_02.pdf (20 pages) or contact [email protected] for more information.

On 15 October 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) posted 20 "questions and answers" on their website that were "prepared by WHO in response to questions and concerns by a number of WHO Member State Governments with regard to the nature and safety of genetically modified food". See the 8-page PDF document at http://www.who.int/fsf (in English, French and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for more information.

The Information and Media Relations Division of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Secretariat has prepared a briefing document entitled "The issues, and where we are now" (updated 10 October 2002), which aims to help public understanding about the current WTO agriculture negotiations. Some of the issues involved (e.g. food safety, consumer information and labelling) have potential implications for agricultural biotechnology. See http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/agric_e/negs_bkgrnd00_contents_e.htm (in English, French and Spanish; in WORD and PDF formats) or contact [email protected] for more information.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Environmental Health and Safety Division published on 20 August 2002 a "Consensus document on compositional considerations for new varieties of maize (Zea Mays): Key food and feed nutrients, anti-nutrients and secondary plant metabolites". It is number 6 in the series on the Safety of Novel Foods and Feeds. The consensus documents contain information for use during the regulatory assessment of a particular food/feed product. This consensus document addresses compositional considerations for new varieties of maize (derived through modern biotechnology) by identifying the key food and feed nutrients, anti-nutrients and secondary plant metabolites. See http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2002doc.nsf/LinkTo/env-jm-mono(2002)25 (available in PDF (208 KB) or Word (361 KB) formats) or contact [email protected].

ISNAR Briefing Paper 54, entitled "Biotechnology and sustainable livelihoods - findings and recommendations of an international consultation" and co-authored by J. Falck-Zepeda, J. Cohen, R. Meinzen-Dick and J. Komen, is now available. The document summarises the findings and recommendations of a meeting entitled "Biotechnology and rural livelihood - enhancing the benefits" that was held on 25-28 June 2001 in The Hague, Netherlands and organised by the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR)s Biotechnology Service. See http://www.isnar.cgiar.org/publications/briefing/bp54.htm (in HTML or PDF (94 KB)) or contact [email protected] .

An FAO press release of 30 August 2002 reports that Dr. Jacques Diouf, the Director-General of FAO, addressed a press conference at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, saying that "Countries in Southern Africa whose populations are facing a devastating drought should carefully consider current scientific knowledge before rejecting food aid containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs)". The press release is available at http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2002/8844-en.html (in English, French and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for more information.

The Summary Report of the FAO study "World agriculture: towards 2015/2030" has been released. It presents the latest FAO assessment of long-term developments in world food, nutrition and agriculture, including the forestry and fisheries sectors. FAO issued similar studies on global agriculture in 1995, 1988, 1981 and 1970. The projections cover about 140 countries and 32 crop and livestock commodities. Among the topics covered is the "role of technology". For biotechnology, the main findings are that: "Modern biotechnology offers promise as a means to improving food security. If the environmental threats from biotechnology are addressed, and if the technology is affordable by and geared towards the needs of the poor and undernourished, genetically modified crop varieties could help to sustain farming in marginal areas and to restore degraded lands to production. To address the concerns of consumers FAO called for improved testing and safety protocols for genetically modified organisms". See http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/y3557e/y3557e00.htm (document in English) or contact [email protected] for more information. The report is also available in French and Spanish. This Summary Report is a shorter version of the results of the technical FAO study "World agriculture: towards 2015/2030" which should be available by the end of 2002.

The Summary Document of the FAO e-mail conference on "Gene flow from GM to non-GM populations in the crop, forestry, animal and fishery sectors" has been finalised and put on the web. Nearly 400 people subscribed for the conference, which ran from 31 May to 5 July 2002, and 118 messages were posted. The 15-page document aims to provide an easy-readable synopsis of the main arguments and concerns discussed during the conference. It is available at http://www.fao.org/biotech/logs/C7/summary.htm or can be requested from [email protected].