Latest Resources

Request to approach SpungtaG2 appeals board as Amicus Curiae

At the Executive Council: GMO Act meeting of 21st July 2009, the decision was taken to deny the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) permission to release genetically modified potatoes onto the market. The decision was not published on the Department of Agriculture’s (DAFF) website until the 14th of October 2009. We are aware that the ARC […]

Joy as Pelargonium patent revoked

The Opposition Division of the European Patent Office (EPO) has today revoked a patent granted to Dr. Willmar Schwabe (Schwabe) in its entirety. The patent was opposed by the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) from South Africa acting on behalf of a rural community in Alice, in the Eastern Cape, in collaboration with the Swiss […]

Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) challenges leaders on climate change

We, the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA), representing small holders, pastoralists, hunter/gatherers, indigenous peoples, citizens and environmentalists from Africa demand that African leaders do more to protect Africa’s food sovereignty, biodiversity, culture and livelihoods of her people. Read here.

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 […]

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 […]

NGO Statement on an international regime on ABS

NGO Statement on an international regime on ABS. Read here.

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.

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 […]

South Africa – GM Food Labelling Regulations

Why Do We Need To Label Genetically Modified (gm) Food Products? Facts For South African Consumers African Centre for Biosafety, Feb 2006. Read here. Critical Analysis Of South Africa’s Labelling Regulations For Genetically Modified Food, Feed And Products Derived From Gm-fed Animals Mariam Mayet, Oct 2004. Read here. Regulations Relating To The Labelling Of Foodstuffs […]

The Long, winding road to a Biosafety Protocol – a South African view

At the negotiations for the Biosafety Protocol in Cartagena, the South Africa government surprised critics by displaying a maturity and understanding of the issues and concerns facing developing countries on the question of genetically engineered organisms. This in spite of attempts by the ‘Miami group’, a negotiating group representing the largest producer nations of biotechnology, […]