Latest Resources

South Africa – Biosafety Policy

Submissions On Draft Biosafety Policy, Government Notice 1576 Of 2005, Published By The Department Of Agriculture, 26 August 2005 Mariam Mayet, Sep 2005. Read here.

Mauritius – GMO Legislation

The Mauritian Paradox Selva Appasawmy, April 2004 OVERVIEW Mauritius has introduced legislation to regulate genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and its associated activities. This legislation perhaps represents the most stringent precautionary regulations yet on the African continent. As a Party to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Biosafety Protocol), the Mauritian government can also be said to […]

Lesotho – GMO Legislation

Evidently influenced by the UNEP-GEF Biosafety Project, the Biosafety Bill has been drafted principally to implement the Biosafety Protocol verbatim, and in so doing, perpetuates some of the weaknesses and deficiencies of the Biosafety Protocol. For instance, the scope of the Biosafety Bill is predicated on the scope of the Biosafety Protocol where the risks […]

Ghana – GMO Legislation

Ghana – GMO Legislation Read here.

Contaminated US Rice Must Be Recalled From Africa

African Groups Condemn US Decision To Authorize Illegal GM Rice Sent To Africa Friends of the Earth Africa and the African Center for Biosafety are today urging African countries to monitor US rice imports and to recall all shipments contaminated with GM rice known as LibertyLink601 (LL601). This call follows the confirmation of the presence […]

South Africa’s Wine Industry Threatened By GM Grapevine Trials

Issued by the African Centre for Biosafety and Earthlife Africa The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) and Earthlife Africa Ethekwini (ELA), are calling on the South African government to reject an application by the Institute for Wine Biotechnology (IWB) based at the University of Stellenbosch, to conduct open- air field trials in South Africa, involving […]

Environmental Risk Assessment Framework for Genetically Modified Organisms

Submission to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism on the ‘Environmental Risk Assessment Framework for Genetically Modified Organisms’ Submitted by the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) and Earthlife Africa eThekwini branch (ELA) Read here.

Is South Africa in the US WTO Sights Over GM Import Ban?

Opinion And Analysis: By Mariam Mayet, August 2006 South Africa’s ban on GM import approvals South Africa’s pro-genetic engineering (GE) stance is well documented[1] and enshrined in national government policy. [2] During the period 2001-4, South Africa’s Executive Council (ExCo)[3] established under the Genetically Modified Organisms Act (GMO Act) has allowed the importation into South […]

South Africa’s ban on GM import approvals

In September/October 2005, at the behest of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Executive Council (EC): GMO Act took the decision not to approve any more new GM applications for the purposes of importation in South Africa as food, feed and processing. The decision was taken to accommodate serious concerns by the DTI […]

Groups in Latin America and Africa call for rejection of World Bank GEF biosafety projects

Two World Bank projects, with funding from the GEF (Global Environmental Facility), propose to introduce genetically modified crops such as maize, potatoes, cassava, rice and cotton into African and Latin American countries that are centres of origin or diversity for these and other major food crops. Civil society organisations warn that DNA contamination from genetically […]