The background document for the FAO e-mail conference entitled "The role of biotechnology for the characterisation and conservation of crop, forest, animal and fishery genetic resources in developing countries" is now available. The 16-page document gives an overview of the current status of genetic resources in the different food and agricultural sectors; a description of relevant biotechnologies (such as molecular markers, cryopreservation and reproductive technologies); and a discussion of some potential factors that may influence applications of biotechnology in developing countries in this area. See http://www.fao.org/biotech/C13doc.htm or contact [email protected] to request a copy of the document by e-mail. The e-mail conference, which is moderated and open to everyone, runs from 6 June to 3 July 2005 and is hosted by the FAO Biotechnology Forum. To join the Forum (and also register for the conference), send an e-mail to [email protected] leaving the subject blank and entering only the following text on two separate lines:subscribe BIOTECH-Lsubscribe biotech-room1Forum members wishing to register for the conference should leave out the first line of the above message. For more information, contact [email protected].

In 2003, FAO launched an on-line searchable database called FAO-BioDeC, providing information on biotechnology products/techniques in use or in the pipeline in developing countries (including countries with economies in transition). A report by Z. Dhlamini and co-authors, entitled "Status of research and application of crop biotechnologies in developing countries: Preliminary assessment", has just been published which provides a first analysis of about 2,000 crop-sector entries from 71 developing countries contained in the database as of 31 August 2004. Entries cover genetically modified (GM) crops and non-GM biotechnologies (such as micropropagation, molecular markers, diagnostics (e.g. ELISA) and microbial techniques). See an FAO press release at http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/102236/index.html (in Arabic, English, French and Spanish); download the 53-page report from http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/y5800e/y5800e00.htm or contact [email protected] to request a copy.

The report of the 26th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling, held on 4-8 April 2005 in Budapest, Hungary, is now available. Agenda item 7 was "Criteria for the methods for the detection and identification of foods derived from biotechnology". See the agenda and meeting report (ALINORM 05/28/23) at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/reports.jsp?lang=en or contact [email protected] for further information. The Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission is an intergovernmental body set up to establish international standards on foods.

The December 2004 newsletter from the Plant Breeding and Genetics Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory is now available. The 20-page newsletter, issued twice a year, gives an overview of their past and upcoming events (meetings, training courses etc.), ongoing projects and publications. See http://www.iaea.org/programmes/nafa/d2/public/pbg-nl-14.pdf (1055 KB) or contact [email protected] to request a copy.

The 2nd meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (COP-MOP/2) takes place from 30 May to 3 June 2005 in Montreal, Canada. Sixteen official documents (available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish) and 10 information documents (English only) are currently available. Official documents recently put on the web include those on risk assessment and risk management; handling, transport, packaging and identification of Living Modified Organisms; socio-economic considerations; and the report of the meeting of the Open-ended Technical Expert Group on Identification Requirements of Living Modified Organisms intended for direct use as Food or Feed, or for Processing (LMOs-FFP) that took place on 16-18 March 2005 in Montreal, Canada. See http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meeting.aspx?mtg=MOP-02 or contact [email protected] for further information.

As part of its Study Series on Policy Issues in International Trade and Commodities, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has just published "International trade in GMOs and GM products: National and multilateral legal frameworks" by S. Zarrilli. The 57-page report covers domestic legislation on agro-biotechnology in selected developed and developing countries; the multilateral legal framework; and actual and potential GM-related trade disputes. This UNCTAD Study Series aims to analyse policy issues and to stimulate discussions in the area of international trade and development. See http://www.unctad.org/en/docs/itcdtab30_en.pdf or contact [email protected] to request a copy or to obtain further information.

The WorldFish Center has just published "Carp genetic resources for aquaculture in Asia", edited by D.J. Penman, M.V. Gupta and M.D. Dey. This 152-page publication focuses on species that are bred in hatcheries and used in aquaculture and restocking activities, although introduced and threatened species in Asia are also discussed. One of the 7 chapters, entitled "Progress in carp genetics research" (by D.J. Penman), reviews progress in genetic research relevant to aquaculture of the species in Asia, including cytogenetics, genetic markers, interspecific hybridization, chromosome set manipulations and polyploidy, sex determination and its manipulation, gene transfer, cryopreservation and tissue culture. See http://www.worldfishcenter.org/Pubs/CarpGen/Carp_Genetics.htm or contact [email protected] for more information. The WorldFish Center is one of the 15 research centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research.

As part of its EPTD (Environment and Production Technology Division) Discussion Papers series, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has just published 2 papers on phytoremediation (using plants to clean up polluted or contaminated sites), entitled "Incorporating project uncertainty in novel environmental biotechnologies: Illustrated using phytoremediation" (by N.A. Linacre, S.N. Whiting and J.S. Angle) and "Ecological risks of novel environmental crop technologies using phytoremediation as an example" (by J.S. Angle and N.A. Linacre). See http://www.ifpri.org/divs/eptd/eptpubs.htm#dp or contact [email protected] for more information. IFPRI Division Discussion Papers contain preliminary material and research results and are circulated in order to stimulate discussion and critical comment.

The report is now available of two recent regional consultative expert workshops, convened by the Gender Advisory Board of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development, on "Understanding the gender dimensions of biotechnology research and development". The workshops were held on 26-27 November 2004 in Pretoria, South Africa (co-hosted by the University of Pretoria) and on 30 November - 1 December 2004 in Islamabad, Pakistan (co-hosted by the National Commission on Biotechnology). See http://gstgateway.wigsat.org/TA/ethics/biotech.html or contact [email protected] for more information.

A report commissioned by the World Bank, entitled "Impacts of strengthened intellectual property rights regimes on the plant breeding industry in developing countries: A synthesis of five case studies" is now available on the web. Prepared by N.P. Louwaars and co-authors, this 176-page report attempts to survey and analyse the design, management and impacts of various IPR instruments applied to plant breeding in China, Colombia, India, Kenya and Uganda. The study focuses on patents, plant breeders rights systems and trademarks and on three types of crops (export crops, crops with good commercial seed potential and crops that attract little commercial seed interest). IPRs on biotechnology processes and products are also considered in the report. See http://www.cgn.wageningen-ur.nl/pgr/images/IPR%20in%20breeding%20industry.pdf or contact [email protected] for more information.

The Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) is an open-ended inter-governmental scientific advisory body of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Its 10th meeting took place on 7-11 February 2005 in Bangkok, Thailand, where it adopted 13 recommendations, one of them (X/11) entitled "Advice on the report of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on the Genetic Use Restriction Technologies". See the recommendations at http://www.biodiv.org/convention/sbstta.asp ; the 95-page meeting report at http://www.biodiv.org/doc/meetings/cop/cop-08/official/cop-08-02-en.pdf or contact [email protected] for more information.

As part of the Capacity Building Project on Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) and Sustainable Development, implemented by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD), a new publication entitled "Resource book on TRIPS and development" is now available on the web. The book "is conceived as a guide to the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). It provides a detailed analysis of each provision of the Agreement, aiming at a sound understanding of WTO Members` rights and obligations". Section 2.5.5 of the book is entitled "Patents: Biotechnological inventions: Genetic resources, plant variety protection, traditional knowledge". See http://www.iprsonline.org/unctadictsd/ResourceBookIndex_update.htm or contact [email protected] for more information.

At a meeting in Patancheru, India, on 28 February - 2 March 2005, the Genetic Resources Policy Committee (GRPC) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) agreed a final text of "Guiding principles for the development of Future Harvest Centers policies to address the possibility of unintentional presence of transgenes in ex-situ collections". Draft guidelines were drawn up in 2004 and circulated to a wide range of stakeholders for comments. The GRPC now recommends that the text be adopted by the CGIAR research centres. See http://ipgri-pa.grinfo.net/index.php?itemid=788 or contact [email protected] for further information.

In 2003, FAO launched an on-line searchable database called FAO-BioDeC providing information on crop biotechnology products/techniques in use or in the pipeline in developing countries (including countries with economies in transition). The database has now been expanded to include data from the forestry sector. In addition, some initial data from livestock has now been included while the crop sector data has also been updated. FAO-BioDeC now contains over 2,000 entries from crops, 700 from forestry and 100 from animals. The database is still evolving and verification and regular updating of information in the database is also being done through a network of national correspondents that have volunteered for the task. See http://www.fao.org/biotech/inventory_admin/dep/default.asp or contact [email protected] for more information or if interested in volunteering to be a FAO-BioDeC national correspondent. Ideally, correspondents should be working in the public sector, specialising in agricultural biotechnology or in a related area, and they should be up-to-date with the status of development, adoption and application of biotechnologies in their country. There are currently 55 correspondents in 52 countries (http://www.fao.org/biotech/inventory_admin/biodec-corr.htm).

On 5-7 March 2005, an international workshop was held in Turin, Italy entitled "The role of biotechnology for the characterisation and conservation of crop, forestry, animal and fishery genetic resources", organised by the FAO Working Group on Biotechnology, the Fondazione per le Biotecnologie, the ECONOGENE project and the Società Italiana di Genetica Agraria. Proceedings of the workshop have now been made available on the web. The 20 papers, covering applications of molecular markers, cryopreservation and reproductive technologies, are organised in the following way: Session I on the status of the world`s agricultural biodiversity; Session II on the use of biotechnology for conservation of genetic resources; Session IV on genetic characterisation of populations and its use in conservation decision-making. Session III presented results from ECONOGENE, a European Union funded project combining a molecular analysis of biodiversity, socio-economics and geostatistics to address the conservation of sheep and goat genetic resources and rural development in marginal agrosystems in Europe. The workshop was held as part of the build up to Conference 13 of the FAO Biotechnology Forum. See http://www.fao.org/biotech/torino05.htm or contact [email protected] to request the proceedings by e-mail.

The 33rd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) takes place on 9-13 May 2005 in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia. Item nr. 5 on the agenda is "Labelling of foods and food ingredients obtained through certain techniques of genetic modification / genetic engineering". See the meeting agenda at http://www.codexalimentarius.net/web/current.jsp (in English, French and Spanish), some background to the CCFL`s work on labelling of GM foods, at http://www.fao.org/ag/agn/food/risk_biotech_label_en.stm, or contact [email protected] for further information.