Events

02 Jun 2007-03 Jun 2007|Noida | Amity University Campus, Sector-125, Noida

Two-day training workshop on “Bio-Safety with reference to Cartagena Protocol” organised at Amity University

Rapid developments in science and technology have thrown new challenges and opportunities for the legal profession. Therefore biosafety regulations have also become of utmost importance for the lawyers. In this context, Amity School of Natural Resources and Sustainable Development in collaboration with Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India organized two-day training workshop on “Biosafety with Special Reference to Cartagena Protocol for Practicing Lawyers of the Country” at Amity University Campus, Sector-125, Noida on June 02-03, 2007. This workshop was an endeavour to create a platform for exchange of dialogue between scientists, the legal fraternity, NGOs and other stakeholders.

Mr. A.S. Chandhok, President, Bar Association of India, High Court, Mr. D.D. Verma, Country Head, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Dr. K.K. Tripathy, Advisor, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Dr. Ashok K. Chauhan, Founder President, Amity University inaugurated the workshop. In his inaugural address Mr. A.S. Chandhok, President, Bar Association of India, High Court said that there is an urgent need to incorporate and spread the precautions adopted under Cartagena Protocol. Workshop organized by Amity has succeeded in spreading the message. Mr. Chandok said the Biosafety Protocol makes clear that products from new technologies must be based on the precautionary principle and allow developing nations to balance public health against economic benefits. It will for example let countries ban imports of a genetically modified organism if they feel there is not enough scientific evidence the product is safe and requires exporters to label shipments containing genetically altered commodities such as corn or cotton.

Mr. D.D. Verma, Country Head, International Union for Conservation of Nature said that Biosafety is a relatively new concern for countries across the world. Safe handling of biological material like plants, animals, bacteria, viruses and even genetic material has assumed paramount importance owing to the sudden advancements in the area of biotechnology. Many foreign corporates like Monsanto, Syngenta have introduced GM crops in India like maize, cotton, wheat, mustard etc. The possible effects of these plants on human, animal and general health of the biological system are unknown. The commercialization of such crops should not be permitted without stringent safety and enough counter measures being carried out.

Dr. Ashok K. Chauhan, Founder President, Amity University said that it is very nice to see that a large gathering having great luminaries attending a special workshop on Bio safety. It is indeed every citizen’s duty to protect the biosphere. Dr. Chauhan said that to protect interest of the public in general and safeguard against harmful effects of bio-hazardous material, a protocol was signed in 2003 at Cartagena in Colombia, popularly known as the “CARTAGENA PROTROCOL ON BIOSAFETY” as a supplement to the “CONVENTION ON BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY”. The objective of the Protocol is to contribute to ensuring an adequate level of protection in the field of the safe transfer, handling and use of 'living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology' that may have adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health, and specifically focusing on trans-boundary movements.

During the technical sessions many topics were discussed by experts of the field. In first technical session Mr. K.D. Raju, Deputy Secretary, PHD Chambers of Commerce and Dr. Piyush Sharma spoke about “Cartagena protocol on Biosafety”. In second technical session, Dr. K.C. Bansal, Professor of Biotechnology, Dr. Renu Swarup, Advisor, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, Dr. Sunil Saran, Vice Chairman, ASTIF discussed on “Living modified organisms and genetically modif