New Genetics, Food and Agriculture: Scientific ... - ArgenBio

26N E W G E N E T I C S, F O O D A N D A G R I C U LT U R E4. Implications for Biodiversity Conservation andEnvironmental SustainabilityIssuesFour issues are important in assessing the effects of moderngenetics on biodiversity and the environment. These are:• Direct effects on the environment, that may result from therel ease of geneti ca l l y/l iving mod i fi ed org anisms into th eenvironment;• I n d i rect effects th at may result from chan g es in agr i cu l-tural pra c ti ces, as a result of the appl i cations of mod e r ngenetics in agriculture and the environment;• A d e q u a cy of the meth ods us ed to as s ess the impact of moder n genetics on the environment;• Usefulness of molecular methods in the characterization,conservation and use of biodiversity.The areas of scientific convergence, divergence and gapsin knowledge are summarized in Table 4.1. Their implicationsare discussed below.Key DocumentsThe environmental issues have been examined in detail ins eve ral specialised stu d i es publ i shed by inte r n ational agenci es (e .g. Euro pean Commission, EC 2001a; Euro pean EnvironmentAgency, Eas th am and Sw ee t, 2002; OECD 2001b ;)and national agencies (e .g. US NRC 2000; US NAS 2002;CAST 2002; US NCFAP 2002). Environmental issues also forman impo r tant co m ponent of seve ral broader stu d i es byn ational agencies (e .g. Bel g i um, VIB 2001; Canada Roy a lSoc i e ty 2001; CBAC 2001, 2002; Fran ce, Academie des Sc i-ences 2002; New Zealand 2001).The env i ro n m e n tal risks as s oc i ated with the re l e ase ofg e n e ti cally mod i fied crops in the env i ronment have alsobeen rev i ewed by Cook, and by Johnson, in CGIAR 2000a;Dale et al. 2002; Nap et al. 2003; and Conner et al. 2003. Therisks and benefits of specific cases have been reviewed for Btcotton (ISAAA 2002 and Pray et al. 2002) and other Bt crops(Shelton et al. 2002). The possible effects of genetically engineeredcorn on the Monarch butterfly are discussed in severalp u bl i cations by the US National Aca d e my of Sc i e n ces(e.g. Zangerl et al. 2001), and also by Shelton and Sears 2001;and the Pew Initi ative 2002). The spe c i fic issues as s oc i ate dwith the possible release of transgenic fish into the environmenthave been reviewed by the Pew Initiative (Pew 2003).OverviewA gr i cu l ture affects the envi ro n m e n t . New genetic te c h-nologies that a re used in agriculture will affect the environment.Their environmental effects may be either positive orn e g ative. They may either acce l e rate the env i ro n m e n ta l l yd amaging effects of agr i cu l ture, or th ey may co n tr i b utetowards more sustainable agricultural practices and the conse rvation of natural res o urces. It is a matter of appl i cati o nand choice.The env i ro n m e n tal effects will depend on the spe c i fi cgenetic application, the agricultural system and the environment(agro - e co sys tem) in which it is used. Env i ro n m e n ta limpact needs to be assessed on a case-by-case basis, takingaccount of specific risk factors. The environmental effects ofspecific technologies may be either direct effects of a specifictrai t /s pe c i es co m b i n ation on biod ive rs i ty, habitat s, lan d-scape, and/or other components of the environment; or theymay be indirect effects, resulting from changing agriculturalpractices leading to more, less or different use of pesticides orherbicides, and/or changing land uses.In assessing direct and indirect environmental effects, newb i o te c h n ol ogy - based te c h n ol og i es need to be co m pare dw i th present agr i cu l tural pra c ti ces, and other te c h n ol ogyo p tions. Co m parison with baseline ecol og i cal data is also