UN CBD Fails to Protect Forests from Genetically Engineered Trees

UN CBD Fails to Protect Forests from Genetically Engineered Trees

Bonn, Germany--Under heavy pressure from Brazil, Canada, Colombia, New Zealand
and Australia, the Convention on Biological Diversity's Ninth Conference of the
Parties (COP-9) failed to pass a moratorium on the release of genetically
engineered trees into the environment despite support for a global ban endorsed
by hundreds of organizations around the world, and the unified efforts to stop
GE trees carried out by NGOs, Indigenous Peoples' Organizations, scientists and
foresters present at the COP.

The negotiations around the issue of GE trees were heated, with the entire
African Group and numerous other Parties staunchly supporting a suspension of
the planting of GE trees until risk assessments show that they will have no
negative impacts on forests or forest dependent peoples. Among those blocking
this effort were the countries of Brazil, Canada, and New Zealand, all of which
are currently conducting field trials of GE trees. One member of the Brazilian
delegation admitted that their delegation included a representative from
ArborGen, the world's leading GE trees research and development company, which
projects millions in profits from GE tree plantations that they plan to develop
in Brazil. [1]

"Most of the COP resolutions will increase hunger, especially in Southern
countries," explained Ana Filippini of World Rainforest Movement and the STOP
GE Trees Campaign. [2] "Accepting genetically engineered trees is only one
more in the chain of wrong policies that will worsen the already serious hunger
situation. Millions of hectares of land are being turned over to the
production of agrofuels. With the new emphasis on cellulose-based agrofuels,
even more land will be taken for even larger plantations of trees-which will
likely someday be GE trees, since the COP would not pass a moratorium on them.
Business has been pushing these unsustainable agrofuels all through this COP,
which are only for the benefit of transnational corporations at the expense of
human hunger and environmental destruction," she concluded.

"Yesterday was a bleak day indeed," added Anne Petermann, of Global Forest
Coalition, Global Justice Ecology Project, and Co-Coordinator of the STOP GE
Trees Campaign. "The fact that the COP failed to take strong collective action
against GE trees means that more forests will be destroyed, more biodiversity
devastated and more peoples displaced. Global warming will be worsened and
livelihoods lost. As has historically been the case, the work to protect
ecosystems will ultimately and unjustly fall upon the communities and peoples
that live there.

"Under the leadership of CBD Executive Secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf, the CBD has
chosen to actively embrace business and a market-based approach to biodiversity
conservation, which has had the inevitable effect of watering down protection
of biodiversity where it runs counter to the interests of business. It is
having the effect of seriously jeopardizing the legitimacy of this body," she
concluded.

Contact: Anne Petermann, Co-Coordinator, STOP GE Trees Campaign
+49 (0) 160 435 9236 (Bonn mobile until 9 am Bonn time Sunday 1 June) or
+1 802 578 0477 (US mobile after 5 pm eastern U.S. time Sunday 1 June)

Notes:
[1] "Rubicon Interim Report", Rubicon. 02/28/07 (Rubicon is a joint owner of
ArborGen)

[2] The STOP GE Trees Campaign is comprised of 137 organizations in 34
countries, all of whom support the call for a global ban on GE trees.
http://www.nogetrees.org
________________________________________

Press Release From the Global Forest Coalition:

Immediate Release 31 May 2008

A Leap Backwards: Biodiversity Loses at UN Convention on Biodiversity
One Big Step Forward for Industry

Bonn, Germany--Global Forest Coalition [1] is appalled at the lack of political
will displayed at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Ninth
Conference of the Parties (COP-9) and the direction the CBD is headed.
Although countries in the Africa Group were unified in protecting biodiversity,
other countries such as Brazil, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, and Japan
blocked most progressive attempts to contain the alarming influence of industry
now found in the CBD.

Very disappointedly the CBD now makes it easier for genetically engineered
trees to be commercialized, which sets back the gains achieved at the last CBD
(COP-8) in Curitiba, Brazil in 2006. [2] Nor did the CBD adopt a correct
definition of forests, which should exclude monoculture timber plantations from
that definition.

Dr Miguel Lovera, chairperson of GFC said, "This is not a step ahead but a huge
step backwards at a time when forests and biological diversity are being lost
at alarming rates." Lovera continued, "The CBD did not do much to stop
deforestation or protect biodiversity as proven by the GFC report released in
Bonn, 'Forests and the Biodiversity Convention', [3] in which 22 countries [4]
were independently monitored to evaluate countries' implementation of CBD
decisions."

Lovera added, "In addition, although there is good language for Indigenous
Peoples' participation in the preamble, there are hardly any measures to ensure
this in the implementation process. One bright note, the CBD finally
acknowledges that climate mitigation projects can be detrimental to forests and
at least requests more research on these issues."

The CBD unfortunately failed to prevent agrofuel expansion. "They apparently
are unaware of the litany of documented adverse impacts of agrofuels (biofuels)
on biodiversity, food and climate," said Dr. Rachel Smolker, lead researcher
and campaigner with GFC and Global Justice Ecology Project. She summarized,
"Their decision is littered with references to 'promoting the benefits of
sustainable biofuel production' and 'taking account of their full life cycle'.
Benefits and sustainability have so far proven completely elusive, especially
given the difficulties of accounting for full life cycle impacts." [5]

GFC's Sandy Gauntlett, Chairman of the Pacific Indigenous Peoples Coalition
(PIPEC) said, "The parties to the CBD are fast becoming the world's largest
organization dedicated to opposing equitable social change, with industry
playing an increasingly larger role in commodifying the planet's environmental
resources." He concluded, "Many of the parties are lining up for their slice
of the cake."

One of the most alarming aspects of the direction the CBD is headed was the
participation of a pseudo Non-Governmental Organization, PRRI (Public Research
and Regulation Initiative), a biotechnology lobby group pretending to represent
'public researchers'. During the CBD, PRRI won the "Captain Hook Award" for
the 'worst smoke screen'. [6]

NOTES: [1] The Global Forest Coalition (GFC) is an international coalition of
NGOs and Indigenous Peoples' Organizations (IPO's) involved in international
forest policy. The GFC was founded in 2000 by 19 NGOs and Indigenous Peoples
Organizations from all over the world. It is a successor to the NGO Forest
Working Group, which was originally established in 1995. It participated in
international forest policy meetings and organized joint advocacy campaigns on
issues like Indigenous Peoples Rights, the need for socially just forest policy
and the need to address the underlying causes of forest loss.

[2] Under Forest Biological Diversity (UNEP/CBD/COP8/WG.1/L3)
http://www.wrm.org.uy/subjects/GMTrees/COP_Decision_VIII_19.htm

[3] 'Forests and the Biodiversity Convention' can be downloaded
http://www.globalforestcoalition.org/paginas/view/28#IM

[4] The countries monitored are Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Bulgaria,
Cameroon, Canada, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan,
Mexico, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Panama, Paraguay, Russian
Federation, Samoa and Uganda.

[5] For the latest on agrofuels, please see the GFC and Global Justice Ecology
report "The real cost of agrofuels: Impacts on food, forests, people and the
climate"
http://www.globalforestcoalition.org/img/userpics/File/publications/Truecostagrofuels.pdf

[6] Coalition Against Biopiracy (CAB) announced the winners of the 5th Captain
Hook Awards at a lunch-time ceremony during the Ninth Conference of the Parties
(COP9) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Bonn, Germany. To
view the award given to PRRI on YouTube
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=8gDzI45mI34