Biotechnology meeting to focus on legal issues<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Legal issues affecting biotechnology are among
\ntopics to be discussed at the first Indonesian Biotechnology
\nConference, a representative of its organizing committee said
\nyesterday.<\/p>\n
Hari Hartiko said legal issues and bioethical issues were of
\nvital importance to Indonesia, given the extent and vulnerability
\nof its biological heritage.<\/p>\n
Discussion of these issues is particularly important
\ngiven Indonesia's lack of laws regulating biotechnology. These
\nlaws are already present in neighboring Malaysia, Singapore and
\nthe Philippines.<\/p>\n
Hartiko said the three-day conference, to open here today at
\nthe Jakarta Convention Center, would include 593 participants
\nfrom 17 countries, with 506 from Indonesia and 87 from abroad.<\/p>\n
This is the first Indonesian biotechnology conference. Future
\nconferences would probably be held every two or three years, he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Other countries taking part are Australia, Bangladesh, Canada,
\nFrance, Germany, India, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, the
\nNetherlands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Sweden, Syria, Taiwan
\nand Turkey.<\/p>\n
He said that of the 116 papers to be presented at the
\nconference, 54 were on industrial biotechnology, 38 on
\nagricultural biotechnology, 16 on medical biotechnology and eight
\nin forestry biotechnology.<\/p>\n
Australian biotechnology company ForBio Limited's Southeast
\nAsia regional manager, Ross Gilmour, told The Jakarta Post that
\nfew papers would be submitted on forestry biotechnology because
\nit was a new field.<\/p>\n
Gilmour said that large corporate plantations in Indonesia had
\nrecently established research divisions and were beginning to
\ncarry out basic research to improve harvests. This would
\neventually include biotechnology programs.<\/p>\n
He said the prospects for research were bright but, because of
\nthe high risks and large investment involved, companies demanded
\nthat research could deliver commercially viable biotechnology
\nproducts.<\/p>\n
He said research was expensive and cited the example of the
\nUS$6 million spent on a robotics-assisted biotechnology research
\nfacility for Monfori Nusantara, in Parung, West Java. Monofori is
\nan Indonesian subsidiary of the Monsanto chemical company of the
\nUnited States.<\/p>\n
The facility was expected to produce 10 million seedlings
\nannually for improved, fast-growing trees, he said.<\/p>\n
Gilmour said plans were underway to develop acacia,
\neucalyptus, teak, rubber and palm oil plants through
\nbiotechnology.<\/p>\n
\"Acacia, currently plants in Kalimantan over 500,000 hectares
\nof land, which needs eight years to harvest and yields 20 cubic
\nmeters per hectare, but with new technology it takes half as much
\ntime to harvest and the yields more than double,\" he said. (01)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/biotechnology-meeting-to-focus-on-legal-issues-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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