EU FP6 Specific Support Action Science 4 BioReg
Science 4 BioReg PDF Print E-mail

The European Commission has funded a 3-year project called Science4BioReg enabling PRRI to conduct some of its basic activities during the 2006 - 2009 period. The full name of the proposal is 'Global involvement of public research scientists in regulations of Biosafety and Agricultural Biotechnology'. The project is a Specific Support Action under the 6th Framework Programme, Food quality and Safety (FP6-2005-FOOD-4-C). Start date of the contract was 1 November 2006.
 

Proposal abstract

The project addressed the growing gap between public sector life sciences in agricultural biotechnology on the one hand and regulatory policies and public perceptions on the other.


Public research in modern biotechnology aims at solving problems in food and feed production, health care and environmental protection, in particular in developing countries. Developments in the public research sector in modern biotechnology are closely dependent on the design and implementation of the regulatory framework for genetically modified crops at the national, regional and global level. Modern biotechnology can contribute to solving these problems only if the regulatory frameworks are science based, predictable, transparent and balanced. Not only the risks that go along with any technological innovation need to be addressed in governance but also the benefits need to be taken into account. To achieve this, it is crucial that policy makers, regulators and the general public are better informed about the objectives and progress in life sciences in agricultural biotechnology.


Conversely, the public research sector itself needs to be informed about the developments in regulations relating to modern biotechnology and the implications for research, so as to be better aligned with broader policy developments for food security, environmental protection and sustainable development.


Science 4 BioReg aimed to involve the public researchers in the EU as well as in developing countries, in discussions on international agreements and regulations on biotechnology, and informed policy makers, regulators and the general public about the objectives and progress in public research in agricultural biotechnology. The activities of the Science 4 BioReg project were closely coordinated with the project Biosafety Research Communication Network (BIOSAFENET).

Project objectives

On the one side Science 4 BioReg informed and involved the public research sector in discussions on international agreements and regulations on biotechnology, and on the other it informed policy makers, regulators and the general public about the objectives and progress in public research in agricultural biotechnology.


The public research sector involved in modern biotechnology was up to 2004 not represented in any significant or organised way during the negotiations of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB), an international agreement on transboundary movement of LMOs[1]. As a result, scientific input on the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology was not provided for the benefit of the negotiations. The public research sector has not been able to express its views about the effectiveness and workability of the provisions of the Protocol.

Another consequence of the absence of the public research sector during the negotiations was the persistence of the misconception that life sciences and, in particular, their modern biotechnological applications in agriculture are the exclusive domain of a handful of big, western multinational companies. This while thousands of researchers in several thousands of governmental, academic and international research institutions in developing and developed countries are working on sustainable solutions for food and water shortages and the protection of human health and the environment, using modern biotechnology as one of the tools.

Biosafety policies developed in Europe and in other international agreements have a major effect on the chances of achieving the effective transfer of the benefits of the technology to developing and emerging countries (DECs). If these countries are not able to adjust or implement these new regulations this may well result in the slow decay of the public research effort focused on solutions to the priority problems of DEC farmers.


To address the growing gap between public sector life sciences in agricultural biotechnology on the one hand and regulatory policies on the other an initiative has been established to provide a forum for the public research sector to be informed about and involved in regulations and international agreements relevant to modern biotechnology, called the Public Research and Regulation Initiative (PRRI). The initiative is run by a Steering Committee consisting of highly qualified and experienced scientists and experts in the regulatory field, all operating on a voluntary base. For the execution of this initiative, a foundation has been established in the Netherlands with the name "Public Research and Regulation, Stichting Publiek Onderzoek en Regelgeving".


The Science 4 BioReg specific support action aimed to extent the activities of the Public Research and Regulation Initiative and provided sustainable involvement of public sector researchers in policy debate for the period of 40 months. Assuring larger target groups were informed about recent developments and ensuring that the public research sector had at least a minimal attendance in all relevant meetings. PRRI provided this specific support action (Science 4 BioReg) with concrete resources and input from its Steering Committee and Forum.

 

OUTCOMES and CONCLUSIONS

During the project duration the following outcomes were achieved:
• 40 public sector scientists from 21 countries participated in the Fourth Meeting of the Parties (MOP4) to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (more details can be found HERE)

• 10 public sector scientists participated in the 9th Conference of the Parties (COP9) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (more details can be found HERE )

• 10 public sector scientists participated in the Conferences of the Parties to the Arhus Convention (more details can be found HERE)

• Many public sector scientists participated in the different intersessional meetings of MOPs and COPs (workpackage 2, more details can be found HERE)

• Public sector scientists participated in the various meetings on biotechnology organised by the European Commission, Member States, EFSA, and other European Organisations as COST (workpackage 3, more details can be found HERE).

• International and regional meetings were organized to inform public sector scientists about existing and planned international and regional regulations pertaining to biotechnology (workpackage 2 and 3, more details can be found HERE).

• Statements on specific items on agenda of MOPs and COPs, such as risk assessment or socioeconomic considerations, were prepared in consultation with PRRI members and submitted to the negotiating Parties (workpackage 2, 3, 5, 7, more details can be found HERE).

• The outline for an online database including public sector research in biotechnology worldwide was created (for details please see periodic activity reports, workpackage 1 or for more details click HERE)

• Guidance materials for compliance with biosafety regulations have been prepared and made available to public researchers (more details can  be found HERE).

• Project activities were presented during international meetings

• Newsletters about results from international meetings and negotiations relevant to biotechnology and biosafety were disseminated to public sector scientists worldwide (workpackage 1 and 8, more details can be found HERE).

• Key documents and submissions were translated into United Nation languages (Spanish, French, and Russian) in order to enable an access to information also for non English speaking audience (workpackage 8, more details can be found HERE).

• Letters and publications explaining a relevance of public sector research in modern biotechnology were sent to governments and international organisations (more details can be found HERE).

All these achievements can be found at www.pubresreg.org.

As a result of the project, public researchers have become a well-known entity in the international arena and the role of science in general and of public research in particular have clearly been set on the negotiating agendas. The experience from the project indicates that a continuous dialogue between life scientists and policy makers can contribute to an establishment of biotechnology regulatory frameworks. Transparent, science based and predictable regulations are the first prerequisite for unlocking a potential of modern biotechnology from research pipelines and deliver its benefits to farmers’ fields. Consortium of the Science4BioReg project involved 14 partners from public sector research institutes worldwide. Detailed list of the partners is listed in the table 1 below.


Table 1: Members of the Science4BioReg consortium

No Participant name Short Country Person responsible
1 Delft University of Technology TU Delft The Netherlands Kim Meulenbroeks MSc.
2 Foundation Public Research and Regulation PRRI The Netherlands Prof. Marc van Montagu
3 Horizons sprl Horizons Belgium Prof. Mr. Piet van der Meer
4

Ghent University

UGent Belgium Dr. Sylvia Burssens
5 Cambridge Biomedical Consultants Ltd. CBC United Kindom Dr. David Bennett
6 Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa FARA Ghana Dr. Monty Jones
7 Black Sea Biotechnology Association BSBA Bulgaria Prof. Atanas Atanassov
8 Institute of Food Biotechnology and Genomics IFBG Ukraine Prof. Yaroslav Blume
11 Institute of Plant Breeding, University of the Philippines Los Baños IPB-UPLB Philippines Prof. Desiree Hautea
12 Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa ASARECA Uganda Dr. Charles Mugoya
14 National Hellenic Research Foundation NHRF Greece Dr. George Sakellaris
15 National Biosafety Association ANBio Brazil Dr.  Leila Oda
16 Julius Kuhn Research Institute JKI Germany Dr. Joachim Schiemann
18 Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile UChile Chile Prof. Lionel Gil

Next to activities that were financially supported by the Science4BioReg project, a substantial amount of work was carried out on a voluntary basis by both consortium members and other external partners.