Latest Resources
11 June 2009
COMMENTS ON THE NATIONAL BIOTECHNOLOGY SAFETY BILL OF UGANDA
We have in the past, commented on several drafts of Uganda’s biosafety law and will not repeat the issues canvassed therein regarding the role and influence of the United States. We have been requested by civil society groups to comment on the National Biotechnology Safety Bill, 2008, approved by Uganda’s Cabinet during April 2008. Uganda […]
20 May 2009
Kenyan Biosafety Bill – May 2009
Genetically Modified crop plants continue to be offered to Africa as a solution to alleviate poverty and stave off hunger. It is a trite observation that hunger has little to do with how efficiently food is produced or how much food is available for consumption. Indeed, hunger is rooted in socio-economic realities which limit the […]
26 March 2009
Genes from Africa: the Colonisation of Human DNA
Indigenous people’s groups and NGOs have waged a long and bitter struggle against the Human Genome Diversity Project and similar efforts to collect the DNA of indigenous and other peoples without appropriate consent and sufficient safeguards against abuse. The Human Genome Diversity Project (HGDP), the brainchild of Italian geneticist Luca Cavalli-Sforza, comprised of a group […]
28 January 2009
A Green Revolution for Africa: Disaster in the making
When world leaders hastily gathered at the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation’s (FAO) high level conference to respond to the global food crisis the three Rome based UN organizations (the FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural development and the World Food Programme) signed a memorandum of understanding with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in […]
17 March 2008
Liability with clipped wings cannot fly
Representatives of civil society bear in mind the impacts of international regimes at the national and local levels. Will they help or will they harm? Bearing in mind biodiversity and people on the ground CSOs discussed the Co-Chair?s Core Elements Paper in conjunction with the proposals on the table in the Subworking Groups. Read here.
5 March 2008
New GM Potato Book: Executive Summary
In 2001, the South African Agricultural Research Council (ARC) began conducting field trials with potatoes genetically modified to contain a Bt gene Cry1Ia1 (formerly BtCryV). This novel gene is intended to protect the plants and potato tubers from infestations of the Potato tuber moth (Phthorimaea operculella). This research is not home grown or ‘truly South […]
20 February 2008
ACB’s Submissions to the SA’s govt’s position on International Liability and Re...
Concerns with South Africa’s Biotechnology Strategy Detailed comments on draft operational text Preferred Options. Read here.
13 February 2008
South Africa’s Biofuels Strategy: greenwashing agribusiness interests
The impetus for the establishment of a biofuels industry in South Africa also came from industry lobbyists under the banner of the Southern African Biofuels Association (SABA). Consequently, the South African government published a feasibility report and a draft Biofuels Industrial Strategy in 2006, which proposed the establishment of a mandatory bioethanol target of 8% […]
28 January 2008
Public Participation in context of Patent Laws in South Africa
The African Centre for Biosafety (ACB) has only recently commenced its work in the fi eld of bioprospecting and biopiracy. A booklet as part of our Biosafety, Biopiracy and Biopolitics series titled, “Bioprospecting, Biopiracy and Indigenous Knowledge: two case studies from the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa” by Koyama and Mayet, has been published. In […]
7 October 2007
Drug Companies Looting SA’s bounty of Medicinal Plants
The government has stepped in to save a tiny South African plant, pelargonium, from extinction after hundreds of tons were harvested for foreign drug companies, one of which has patented its use to fight HIV/Aids. Now traditional healers, who have used the plant for centuries, are trying to win back the patent which they claim […]