An expert workshop on "Policy Planning and Decision Support: the Case of Biosafety" took place at FAO Headquarters, Rome, Italy on 14-16 May 2002. The workshop was organised by the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR - one of the 16 Future Harvest centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) and FAO, and discussion centred on a web-based decision-support system, developed jointly by ISNAR and FAO, that is being designed to assist national policy-makers and research directors to formulate policy and regulatory frameworks to respond to safety issues regarding applications of modern biotechnology in food and agriculture. This workshop, dealing with biosafety, is the first in a series focusing on specific issues and aiming to help FAO member countries meet international and regional obligations concerning agricultural biotechnology. About 40 participants, including representatives from the United Nations Environmental Programme, the Global Environmental Facility and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation as well as national experts, attended the workshop. See http://www.isnar.cgiar.org/ibs/biosafety.htm for a brief summary of the workshop or contact [email protected] or [email protected]for more information.

03/09/2002