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<DIV>GENETIC RESOURCES, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW AND GMOS: ON THE AGENDA AT
FAO<BR>October 28, 2002<BR>Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations Press
Release<BR>http://www.fao.org/english/newsroom/news/2002/10300-en.html<BR>ROME,
28 October 2002 - Genetic resources and intellectual property rights<BR>were top
of the agenda during a recent meeting at the UN Food and<BR>Agriculture
Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome where experts also<BR>discussed
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their impact on<BR>business, human
health and the environment.<BR>The ninth session of the Commission on Genetic
Resources for Food and<BR>Agriculture (CGRFA), held in mid-October, tackled
issues such as<BR>biodiversity, biotechnology and ethics and agreed on the
importance of<BR>developing Codes of Conduct on biotechnology and the transfer
of plant<BR>genetic material.<BR>The Commission was warned that inappropriate
granting of intellectual<BR>property rights could jeopardise public confidence
in an international<BR>network of plant collections containing more than half a
million samples.<BR>Country members cited the example of a US patent on the
"Enola bean" and<BR>expressed support for the efforts of the International
Centre for Tropical<BR>Agriculture (CIAT) who have requested that the bean's
patent be revoked.<BR>They called upon the Director-General to bring the matter
to the attention<BR>of the United Nations General Assembly, the World Trade
Organization and the<BR>World Intellectual Property Organization.<BR>The plant
collections, designed to preserve and maintain genetic diversity,<BR>are held
in-trust by the International Agricultural Research Centres (IARC)<BR>of the
Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR).<BR>The
Commission threw its weight behind the Global Conservation Trust,
an<BR>international initiative launched during the Johannesburg Summit
on<BR>Sustainable Development to maintain the world's plant collections, a
task<BR>estimated at some 260 million dollars.<BR>Member countries asked the
Commission to examine the impact of biotechnology<BR>on health and the
environment in order to create a Code of Conduct for<BR>Biotechnology and to
ensure the benefits of these technologies reach farmers<BR>in both developing
and developed countries.<BR>The Commission decided to undertake an in-depth
analysis of animal genetic<BR>resources. The result of this study, a report
entitled The State of the<BR>World's Animal Genetic Resources will be published
in the next three years.<BR>The Commission also discussed the possibility of
creating an international<BR>treaty on animal genetic resources similar to the
recently approved Treaty<BR>on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture.<BR>The Commission also discussed a rapid alert and information
system for<BR>emergencies linked to plant genetic resources, an information
network to<BR>promote the interchange of technology and resources and the
publication of<BR>the second report on The State of the World's Plant
Resources.<BR>The International Treaty for Plant Genetic Resources for Food
and<BR>Agriculture's Interim Committee also held its first meeting recently
in<BR>Rome. The meeting, which centred on the development of agreements
governing<BR>the transfer of genetic material, represented the first step
towards the<BR>treaty coming into effect.<BR>The treaty's aim is to guarantee
the future availability of the diversity of<BR>plant genetic resources and
promote the fair and equitable sharing of all<BR>benefits. The agreement,
approved in November 2001, will become legally<BR>binding when it has been
ratified by at least 40 countries. To date, 65<BR>countries have signed the
accord and it has been ratified, accepted or<BR>approved by eight
.<BR><BR><BR>1,000 FARMERS TO RALLY VS IRRI<BR>October 28, 2002<BR>Philippine
Daily Inquirer<BR>LOS BANOS, Laguna-At least 1,000 farmers from the Southern
Tagalog region<BR>and seven countries are, according to this story, expected to
join a rally<BR>today to protest the International Rice Research Institute's
(IRRI) alleged<BR>"disregard of workers rights, and its involvement in
bio-piracy and genetic<BR>engineering."<BR>The story says that the farmers'
protest coincides with the annual general<BR>meeting of the Consultative Group
on International Agricultural Research<BR>(CGIAR) in Makati where more than 500
scientists all over the world have<BR>convened starting yesterday until Nov.
1.<BR>The CGIAR is a global alliance of 16 international research institutes
known<BR>as "Future Harvest Centers," 22 developing and 21 industrialized
nations and<BR>hundreds of partner organizations in over 100 countries.<BR>A
member of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) was cited as telling<BR>the
Inquirer that the march will start at about 8:30 a.m. from the Olivares<BR>Mall
here and move to IRRI gates where local and international speakers
from<BR>Bangladesh, Indonesia and Thailand will take turns expressing
their<BR>sentiments in favor of the farmers' plight.<BR>The other nations to be
represented are Mexico, Colombia and India.<BR><BR>Archived at: <A
href="http://131.104.232.9/agnet-archives.htm">http://131.104.232.9/agnet-archives.htm</A></DIV></BODY></HTML>