The New Biomassters - Convention on Biological Diversity

‘Biomassacre’
by the Beehive
Collective
In the UNFCCC (climate
change) negotiations, South
governments seem to be
unaware that “technology
transfer” will be leveraged to
extend industry’s monopoly
over biomass technologies to
the South’s lands and resources.
<strong>The</strong> implications of the “<strong>New</strong>
Bioeconomy” are so vast that
they should be on the agenda
of every UN agency and must,
especially, be addressed at the
Rio+20 Summit to be held in
Brazil in 2012.
Policies
Announcements during 2010
that synthetic biology
researchers can substantially
manipulate DNA to build
artificial, self-replicating
microorganisms that have
never before appeared on Earth
have immediate implications
for biodiversity, biosafety and
national economies.
Synthetically constructed life
forms should not be released
into the environment, and the
UN and national governments
should establish – at the very
least – moratoria to prevent such releases. As urgently,
studies must be undertaken to determine the
implications of what the U.S. government calls “the biobased
revolution” for climate change, the world’s
ecosystems, food and energy supplies and for livelihoods
and land rights.
Civil society and social movements organized around
agriculture, land rights, forest protection, marine issues,
emerging technologies, chemical toxins, climate change,
energy justice and consumption urgently need to find
means to share analysis and co-ordinate resistance in
addressing common threats arising from the <strong>New</strong>
Bioeconomy.
ETC Group iv www.etcgroup.org