Scholars urge biosafety precautions
JAKARTA (JP): Scholars questioned yesterday whether Indonesia was ready to face the repercussions of an oncoming era of genetic engineering, distant though the prospect may seem.
"We cannot exclude ourselves from it, but we can prepare for the unknown by taking precautionary action," said Hari Hartiko from the office of the State Minister of Environment.
Addressing the second day of a three-day conference on "Observing Indonesia's Sustainable Development Facing the 21st Century", Hari called for the establishment of laws to regulate genetic engineering activities, and a national commission to oversee it.
There are sharply differing opinions about genetically engineering crops for specific qualities.
The international community is drafting a biosafety protocol to set guidelines for resource utilization. Developed countries in the North generally have the technology to study and exploit the developing countries' biodiverse wealth in the South.
Since genetic engineering began in the 1970s, around 2,053 Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) have been created and used either for health or agricultural purposes.
No country in the world has established clear monitoring guidelines for genetically engineered products. Scholars have observed that China was the most lax country while Germany tightly monitored its genetically engineered products.
The Fourth Convention on Biological Diversity's Conference of the Parties (COP) to be held in 1998 is expected to produce the biosafety protocol.
"On the outside, genetic engineering may seem to enrich biodiversity because it creates new organisms that even nature cannot produce in such a short time. We should be cautious, however, about the impact it may have," said Pratiwi Sudarmono, a microbiology lecturer of University of Indonesia.
"While there is vigorous activity in the pursuit of bio- technological advancement, our government is not yet ready to deal with the problems," Pratiwi said in her paper. She added that ethical repercussions relating to scientists' responsibilities and consumer rights would also arise.
Controversy abounds because a GMO's composition can only be controlled as long as it remains in the laboratory. Its impact or side effects on people or the environment may not be detected for decades.
"No one knows or is able to control its' (the organism's) transformation into who knows what," said Dwi Andreas Santosa from the Bogor Institute of Agriculture.
Hira Jhamtani of the Konphalindo environmental organization said despite the controversy and hassle, there was no guarantee that genetic engineering would secure a country's agricultural self-sufficiency.
Soeryo Adiwibowo, a lecturer at the Bogor Institute of Agriculture, said the so-called "genetic revolution," "green- revolution," and "blue revolution" all had a boomerang effect. (06)