House discusses new genetic protocol

House discusses new genetic protocol

Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta

Ratifying an international biological diversity protocol would
help protect the country from the negative effects of making and
using genetically modified organisms (GMOs), environmental
activists said.

The activists met with members of the House of
Representative's commission I on foreign affairs on Tuesday to
discuss ratifying the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. The
commission has also met with scientists and businesses about the
protocol.

Adopted in Montreal, Canada, in 2000, the protocol is an add-
on measure to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 1992. In
1994, Indonesia passed Law No.5/1994 on Biological Diversity to
ratify the convention. Legislators passed the law to ensure the
country did not become a laboratory for GMO research by foreign
interests.

Biodiversity Foundation (Kehati) director Ismid Hadad said the
Cartagena Protocol had clear guidelines for the creation of GMOs.

"The ratification of the protocol is important for us," he
told legislators in the commission on Tuesday.

Tejo Wahyu Jatmiko from the National Consortium for
Indonesia's Forest and Natural Conservation (Konphalindo) said
environmental organizations backed the ratification.

"We have been waiting (for this) for four years," he said.

The protocol sets out guidelines to ensure an adequate level
of protection for the safe transfer, handling and use of living
modified organisms, which may have adverse effects on the
conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity
resources. It takes into account the risks to human health and
specifically focuses on the international movement of GMOs.

The most important aspect in the Cartagena Protocol is the
adoption of the "precautionary principle", which anticipates
scientific uncertainty in the making of GMOs.

The Cartagena Protocol mandates the need for risk assessment
and risk management procedures before organisms can be
genetically modified.

After the government ratified the protocol, it would have to
consult with the public to formulate regulations on the treatment
of GMOs, Tejo said.

The government also needed to strengthen the agencies that
would be involved in regulating GMO research and use, he said.

This would need to be done at both national and regional
levels, he said.