The 29th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling takes place on 10-14 March 2008 in Budapest, Hungary. Item 6 on the provisional agenda is "Criteria for the methods for the detection and identification of foods derived from biotechnology". See the meeting agenda, and eventually the meeting documents, at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/current.jsp (in English, French and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for further information.

The 4th meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP/4) takes place on 12-16 May 2008 in Bonn, Germany, back-to-back with the 9th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity which takes place on 19-30 May. The first official documents from COP-MOP/4 are now available on the web, including an 18-page annotated provisional agenda. See http://www.cbd.int/doc/meeting.aspx?mtg=MOP-04 or contact [email protected] for more information.

The 4th meeting of the ad hoc Open-ended Working Group of Legal and Technical Experts on Liability and Redress in the Context of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was held on 22-26 October 2007 in Montreal, Canada. The 63-page meeting report is now available. See the report, plus meeting documents, at http://www.cbd.int/doc/meeting.aspx?mtg=BSWGLR-04 (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for more information.

The FAO Biotechnology website was originally launched in 2000 in the English language and expanded in 2001 to include Arabic, Chinese, French and Spanish. In collaboration with its Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, FAO has now launched the Russian version of the website, which includes updated information on FAOs work and international developments regarding agricultural biotechnologies and their products, as well as on related policy and regulatory issues surrounding research and application of agricultural biotechnologies. See http://www.fao.org/biotech/index.asp?lang=ru or contact [email protected] for more information or with comments.

The FAO Working Group on Biotechnology has just launched FAO-BiotechNews-Ar, an e-mail newsletter providing updates of news and event items in Arabic that are relevant to applications of biotechnology in food and agriculture in developing countries. It is the Arabic version of the English-language newsletter FAO-BiotechNews. The main focus of its news and event items is on the activities of FAO, of other United Nations (UN) agencies/bodies and of the 15 research centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), in addition to activities of a few major non-UN inter-governmental organizations. See more details about FAO-BiotechNews-Ar at http://www.fao.org/biotech/welar.pdf (in Arabic). To subscribe, send an e-mail to [email protected] with the subject blank and the following one-line text message:subscribe FAO-BiotechNews-Ar-L

On 7 August 2007, the FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf delivered the Foundation Day Lecture on `A world without hunger` at the M.S. Swaminathan Foundation Conference in Chennai, India. In addition to issues such as transboundary pests and diseases, climate change, bioenergy and the right to food, he also addressed the role of agricultural biotechnologies. See the speech, the FAO news release (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for more information.

On 12 October 2007, a half-day seminar on "The role of agricultural biotechnologies for production of bioenergy in developing countries" was held at FAO Headquarters, Rome, jointly organised by the FAO Working Group on Biotechnology and the FAO Working Group on Bioenergy, with the support of the US mission. Presentations from the meeting are now available on the web, covering topics such as global perspectives on production of biotechnology-based bioenergy; genomics and bioenergy; and bioethanol production via enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass. See http://www.fao.org/biotech/seminaroct2007.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.

The United Nations General Assembly has declared 2008 as the International Year of the Potato (IYP) and FAO is leading its implementation. The IYP website has now been launched, providing a wealth of information about the IYP and its related events, as well as about the potato, including a series of factsheets compiled by FAO specialists on key issues in potato development. One of the factsheets is dedicated to the potato and biotechnology. See http://www.potato2008.org/en/potato/factsheets.html (in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for more information.

A recent FAO news story is dedicated to the spread of the cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and the efforts made to develop disease-free cassava in the Great Lakes region of Africa. It also provides a link to a video made about an FAO project, funded by the European Commissions Humanitarian Aid department, involving the use of micropropagation for the rapid multiplication and distribution of CMD-free planting materials. See the news story (in English, French and Spanish) or contact [email protected] for more information.

Issue 150 (June 2007) of the Plant Genetic Resources Newsletter is now available on the web, including e.g. an article about the use of molecular markers to analyse the genetic diversity and relationships among sweet potato landraces in China. The newsletter is a peer-reviewed journal published 4 times a year by Bioversity International and FAO that features articles in English, French or Spanish on plant genetic resources research. See the newsletter or contact [email protected] to obtain copies or to be placed on the mailing list.

The report of the 7th Session of the Codex Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on Foods Derived from Biotechnology, held on 24-28 September 2007 in Chiba, Japan, is now available. Among the conclusions reached at the meeting, the Task Force agreed to forward to the 31st Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (to be held from 30 June to 5 July 2008) for adoption at Step 5/8 the i) Proposed Draft Guideline for the Conduct of Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Animals; ii) Proposed Draft Annex on Food Safety Assessment of Foods Derived from Recombinant-DNA Plants Modified for Nutritional or Health Benefits; and iii) Proposed Draft Annex on Food Safety Assessment in Situations of Low-level Presence of Recombinant-DNA Plant Material in Food. See the report (ALINORM 08/31/34), together with the provisional agenda providing links to the meeting`s documents, at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/archives.jsp?year=08 or contact [email protected] for further information.

On 3-7 September 2007, the first International Technical Conference on Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was held in Interlaken, Switzerland, organized by FAO and hosted by the Government of Switzerland. During the conference, the FAO report "The State of the Worlds Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture" was released. This comprehensive 511-page publication draws on 169 Country Reports, contributions from a number of international organizations, 12 specially commissioned thematic studies and wider expert knowledge to provide the first global assessment of these resources and their management. It contains many sections indirectly or directly relevant to biotechnology, such as applications of molecular markers and reproductive technologies. The main achievement of the conference was the adoption of the Global Plan of Action for Animal Genetic Resources as a critical milestone in international efforts to promote conservation and wise management of the worlds animal genetic resources for food and agriculture. See this website (includes the full `State of the World` report in English; a 37-page "brief" version, presenting a summary of the key findings of the main report, in Arabic, Chinese, English, French and Spanish; and the conference report) or contact [email protected] for more information.

On 8-10 September 2007, a regional consultation on Biotechnology and biosafety for agriculture and the environment in the West Asia and North Africa sub-region" was held in Aleppo, Syria, sponsored by FAO, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA). Its objective was to develop a proposal for an integrated regional framework on biotechnology and biosafety involving major stakeholders. See a news story about the workshop at http://www.icarda.org/News/2007/12Sep07/12Sep07.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.

The FAO Glossary of Biotechnology for Food and Agriculture has been translated into Vietnamese, published by the Center for Information and Technological Transfer of Biology (CITB), in Vietnam, through an arrangement with FAO. The book provides in English the same 3,196 terms and definitions contained in the original glossary as well as their Vietnamese translation. The glossary provides consolidated, comprehensive and accessible definitions of terms and acronyms that are used regularly in biotechnology, including genetic engineering, and closely allied fields. The original English version of the glossary was written by A. Zaid, H.G. Hughes, E. Porceddu and F. Nicholas. See http://www.fao.org/biotech/vietgloss.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.

The website of the Global Partnership Initiative for Plant Breeding Capacity Building (GIPB) has now been launched. This multi-stakeholder initiative, whose Secretariat will be initially hosted by FAO, aims to enhance the capacity of developing countries to improve crops for food security and sustainable development through better plant breeding and delivery systems. Among the items of interest, the website includes preliminary results from an electronic consultation process, involving stakeholders from international organisations, foundations, universities and research institutes, civil society associations and national and regional bodies, that took place from July to September 2007. The results of this consultation define the longer-term priorities and strategies for the GIPB and will guide formulation of its organizational and implementation framework. See http://km.fao.org/gipb/ or contact [email protected] for more information.

As publication 34 in its Desert Locust Technical Series, FAO`s Plant Production and Protection Division has just published a "Review of the efficacy of Metarhizium anisopliae var. acridum against the Desert Locust" by H. van der Valk. Isolates of the entomopathogenic (i.e. pathogenic to insects only) fungus Metarhizium can be used as a biopesticide against the Desert Locust. See the publication or contact [email protected] for more information.