Latest Resources
9 November 2009
Response from the AU Commission Biosafety Unit to Briefing no. 9
In July 2009 The African Union Biosafety Unit communicated their concerns about the ACB’s briefing no.9, their letter can be viewed here. The original briefing can be viewed at here, The ACB’s response is titled On-going concerns about harmonisation of biosafety regulations in Africa, November 2009.
12 August 2009
Formal complaint to the Compliance Committee of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
Our complaint is in regard to the non-compliance of the South African Government to this treaty The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) is a South African NGO deeply concerned with biosafety in South Africa and on the African continent. We have, over the years, been involved in the revision and improvement of South Africa’s biosafety […]
15 May 2009
Africa’s Green Revolution rolls out the Gene Revolution
The ‘New Green Revolution in Africa’, touted since the 1990s, was given renewed impetus two and a half years ago, when the Rockefeller and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations launched the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA). Although AGRA itself does not incorporate genetically modified (GM) crops in its projects, the ominous presence […]
22 August 2008
Letter from McDonalds Restaurant re GM Potatoes
Allegedly, McDonald’s is committed to providing quality food to our customers and source our products and ingredients from the best suppliers locally and globally. In South Africa, their potatoes are sourced from McCain Foods and so we asked their Managing Director, Mr Owen Porteus, to provide us with full clarification on the use of GMO […]
6 May 2008
Rural Community of SA stand up against Pelargonium Patents & Biopiracy
A rural community in South Africa stands up against pelargonium patents and biopiracy. The Alice community, living in the Eastern Cape area of South Africa, in close collaboration with the African Centre for Biosafety, and supported by the Berne Declaration (Switzerland), the Church Development Service (EED) and “Kein Patent auf Leben” (Germany), has challenged two […]
11 February 2008
ACB’s Comments on Liability & Redress in preparation of the Adhoc Open Ended meeting i...
The African Centre for Biosafety is grateful to the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) for the opportunity to make these written comments, and later this month, (29th February 2008), oral submissions, with respect to the South African government’s draft operational text on liability and redress in the context of the Cartagena Protocol on […]
15 October 2007
NGO Statement on an international regime on ABS
NGO Statement on an international regime on ABS. Read here.
6 September 2007
World Bank Projects on Biosafety Harmonisation
In Burkina Faso, Benin, Togo, Mali, Senegal A disclaimer addressed to the attention of GEF CEO and GEF council members by the Coalition for the Protection of African Genetic Heritage (COPAGEN). Read more here.
14 August 2007
ACB’s Comments on Kenya’s June 2007 Biosafety Bill, August 2007
Kenya’s Biosafety Bill is drafted as an enabling statute and will require the promulgation of numerous regulations in order to bring it into effect. It’s fundamental nature is one of a lenient permitting system as opposed to a biosafety regime intention regulating genetically modified organisms within a context of caution. Read here.
27 July 2007
Rural Communities Express Dismay: “land grabs” fuelled by Biofuels Strategy
More than sixty people met in Durban on March 5th 2007, to discuss the South African government’s Draft Industrial Biofuels Strategy, which is open for public comment until the end of March. The undersigned NGOs, individuals, farmer organisations and rural communities from KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Mpumalanga who attended the workshop, express our extreme […]