January 26, 2004

Betreft: Adviesraad voor Bioveiligheid (ARB) - Vordering van de werkzaamheden
Concerne: Conseil Consultatif de Biosécurité (CCB) - Avancement des travaux
Concern: Biosafety Advisory Council (BAC) - Progress of work

De Adviesraad voor Bioveiligheid (ARB) deelt mee:

Deze maandag 26 januari 2004, heeft de Adviesraad voor Bioveiligheid:

1. besloten het publiek toegang te verlenen tot de website van de Raad. De Nederlandse versie van de site is toegankelijk op volgende adressen: http://www.bioveiligheidsraad.be/ ~ http://www.bio-raad.be/

2. geantwoord op de brief van de Federale Minister van Leefmilieu, Consumentenzaken en Duurzame Ontwikkeling, betreffende veldproeven met GGO's in Engeland. De Raad herinnert eraan dat het gebruik van GGO's niet te scheiden is van het gebruik van herbiciden. De gevolgen zijn verschillend volgens het type planten en de klimatologische omstandigheden. De gevolgen voor de biodiversiteit kunnen enkel aan herbiciden toegeschreven worden. Het is aanbevolen om de voornaamste parameters te identificeren die op deze gevolgen ingrijpen.

3. aanbevelingen geformuleerd met betrekking tot het kennisgevingsdossier C/BE/96/01 (transgenisch koolzaad) dat door de firma Bayer CropScience werd ingediend. Het advies van de ARB bestaat enerzijds uit een expertise verslag dat door de Groep van deskundigen van de ARB wordt opgesteld en anderzijds uit de conclusies van de ARB die door de leden op basis van een voorstel van het secretariaat van de Raad worden opgesteld. Deze conclusies, die uit talrijke aanbevelingen bestaan, wijzen erop dat er geen risico's voor de menselijke gezondheid bestaan, en dat de enigste risico's bettrekking hebben op het milieu, de biodiversiteit en de coexistentie van de verschillende vormen van landbouw. Strikte voorwaarden voor toepassingen zullen het mogelijk maken om ze te verminderen en te controleren.

Le Conseil consultatif de biosécurité (CCB) communique:

Ce lundi 26 janvier 2004, le Conseil consultatif de Biosécurité a:

1. décidé l'accès au public du site Internet du Conseil. La version française du site est accessible aux adresses suivantes: http://www.conseil-biosecurite.be/ ~ http://www.bio-conseil.be/

2. répondu à la lettre de la Ministre fédérale de l'Environnement, de la Protection de la consommation et du Développement durable, concernant les essais d'OGMs en champs en Angleterre. Le Conseil rappelle que l'utilisation d'OGMs est indissociable de l'emploi d'herbicides. Les effets sont différents selon les plantes considérées et les circonstances climatiques. Les effets sur la biodiversité ne peuvent être attribués qu'aux herbicides. Il est recommandé d'identifier les principaux paramètres intervenant dans ces effets.

3. exprimé des recommandations à propos du dossier de notification C/BE/96/01 (colza transgénique) introduit par la firme Bayer CropScience. L'avis du CCB est constitué d'un rapport d'expertise rédigé par le Groupe d'experts du CCB et des conclusions du CCB rédigées par les membres sur base d'une proposition du secrétariat du Conseil. Ces conclusions constituées de nombreuses recommandations rappellent qu'il n'existe pas de risques pour la santé humaine, et que les seuls risques concernent les domaines de l'environnement, de la biodiversité et de la co-existence des différentes formes d'agriculture. Des conditions d'applications strictes permettront de les réduire et de les contrôler.

The Belgian Biosafety Advisory Council (BAC) communicates the following:

On Monday January 26, 2004, the Biosafety Advisory Council has: 

1. decided to open to the public the access to the Internet site of the Council. The English version of the site is accessible to the following addresses: http://www.biosafety-council.be/ ~ http://www.bio-council.be/

2. answered the letter of the federal Minister for the Environment, Consumer Protection and Sustainable Development, concerning the GMOs field tests in the UK. The Council points out that the use of GMOs is indissociable from the use of herbicides. The effects are different according to the plants considered and to the climatic conditions. The effects on biodiversity can be attributed only to herbicides. It is recommended to identify the main parameters affecting these effects.

3. expressed recommendations concerning the notification C/BE/96/01 (transgenic oilseed rape) introduced by the company Bayer CropScience. The advice of the BAC consists of an expert report written by the Group of experts of the BAC and the conclusions of the BAC written by the members on the basis of a proposal of the Council Secretariat. These conclusions made up of many recommendations recall that there is not risks for human health, and that the only risks relate to aspects related to the environment, the biodiversity and the coexistence of the various forms of agriculture. Strict enforcement conditions will make it possible to reduce and to control these risks.

Reports in PDF format
(Warning: the website of the Biosafety Advisory Council is new and the links to the PDF files do not work consistently)

26 Jan. 2004
Advice of the Biosafety Advisory Council on the notification C/BE/96/01 (transgenic oilseed rape - Bayer CropScience) under Article 35 of Directive 2001/18/EC
(English - ref. BAC_2004_SC_084)

26 Jan. 2004
Advice of the Biosafety Advisory Council on the British report "On the rationale and interpretation of the Farm-Scale Evaluation (FSE) of genetically modified herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) crops"
(English - ref. BAC_2004_SC_087)

RELATED NEWS ITEM

January 28, 2004

By John Mason
The Financial Times via Checkbiotech.org

The campaign to legalise the commercial growing of genetically-modified oilseed rape in the European Union received a setback on Wednesday when Belgian scientists advised it would be harmful to the environment.

The Belgian biosafety advisory committee said a herbicide-tolerant oilseed rape variety made by Bayer Cropscience would damage wildlife and mix with non-GM wild varieties through a process called vertical gene-flow.

Although measures could be taken to reduce the crop's impact on the environment, these would be "impracticable, hardly workable and hard to control in current agricultural circumstances - hence vertical gene flow and negative consequences on biodiversity may not be controlled," the committee said.

Its recommendations could be far-reaching. Belgium is acting for all member states in considering the application from Bayer. The scientific advice will now be considered by Belgian ministers and any rejection of the application would apply across the EU. However, Bayer could appeal to the Belgian courts for the decision to be overturned.

Bayer said the scientists' advice did not prevent its product gaining eventual approval but this would require the company being able to show that measures to reduce its impact on the environment could work effectively.

The committee relied upon conclusions reached by British scientists, who carried out the largest environmental experiment on the effects of herbicide-tolerant rape, maize and sugarbeet on the environment. It concluded that growing GM rape and sugar beet was more damaging than cultivating non-GM crops, but GM maize was less damaging.

The scientific advice applies only to oilseed rape sown in the spring. The impact of winter-sown varieties is still being considered.

However, in a separate move, the European Commission on Wednesday backed a proposal to allow imports of a genetically modified maize type, the first step towards lifting the EU's five-year unofficial ban on new GM crops and products.

EU governments now have three months to consider the proposal to allow imports of the maize, known as Bt-11 and marketed by the Swiss agrochemicals group Syngenta. If they cannot agree by then, the Commission may rubberstamp its own proposal.

The US, backed by Canada and Argentina, has challenged the EU's ban at the World Trade Organisation, saying it is acting illegally. Farmers in the US say the ban costs them millions of dollars a year in lost sales.

© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2004.