Biosafety: Ensuring the Safe Use of Modern Biotechnologies

The document outlines the evolution of modern biotechnology and the subsequent development of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to protect human health and biodiversity from the adverse effects of living modified organisms (LMOs). It details the Protocol's operationalization of the precautionary approach, its mechanisms for transboundary movement—such as the advance informed agreement (AIA) procedure—and its relationship with trade agreements like the WTO SPS Agreement. The brief also discusses the 2010 Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress and highlights the ongoing challenges posed by emerging technologies like synthetic biology and gene drives.

• The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, which entered into force in 2003 and has over 170 parties, aims to ensure the safe transport, handling, and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) that may negatively impact biodiversity and human health.
• The Protocol operationalizes the precautionary approach, allowing governments to restrict the import of an LMO even when there is a lack of full scientific certainty regarding its potential adverse effects.
• Two primary procedures regulate the transboundary movement of LMOs: the advance informed agreement (AIA) procedure for LMOs intended for introduction into the environment, and a separate procedure for LMOs intended for direct use as food, feed or processing (LMO-FFPs).
• The 2010 Nagoya-Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress was established to address gaps in the original Protocol regarding environmental damage, requiring parties to provide response measures for biodiversity damage.
• Tensions exist between biosafety regulations and international trade rules, exemplified by a WTO dispute where the US, Argentina, and Canada challenged the EU's GMO approval delays, resulting in a ruling that the EU breached the SPS Agreement.
• Modern biotechnology faces criticism for focusing on a limited number of crops suited for developed country markets, leading to concerns that the technology prioritizes private profit over public good and may negatively impact smallholder farmers in developing countries.
• Emerging biotechnologies, specifically synthetic biology and gene drives, present new challenges for international policymakers in balancing potential benefits with environmental and socio-economic risks.

APA

(PhD),, E. T. (2021). Biosafety: Ensuring the Safe Use of Modern Biotechnologies. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/biosafety-ensuring-safe-use-modern-biotechnologies

Chicago

(PhD),, Elsa Tsioumani. Biosafety: Ensuring the Safe Use of Modern Biotechnologies. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2021. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/biosafety-ensuring-safe-use-modern-biotechnologies.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=(PhD), |first1=Elsa Tsioumani |title=Biosafety: Ensuring the Safe Use of Modern Biotechnologies |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=11 May 2021 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/biosafety-ensuring-safe-use-modern-biotechnologies |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{phd2021biosafety, author = {(PhD),, Elsa Tsioumani}, title = {{Biosafety: Ensuring the Safe Use of Modern Biotechnologies}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/biosafety-ensuring-safe-use-modern-biotechnologies}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }