China is considering drafting its first biosafety law to better
regulate the country's use and development of modern biotechnology.
The law would regulate the controversial transgenic technology,
according to the State
Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA).
Wang Dehui, director of the Department of Nature and Ecology
Conservation under the SEPA, said the administration -- along with
five other ministries covering agriculture, science and technology,
quality supervision, quarantine and foreign affairs -- is now
refining the details of the law before passing it to the National
People's Congress for reading and ratification.
SEPA officials said "biosafety" refers to the potentially adverse
effects caused by living modified organisms (LMOs) in research,
development, usage and cross-border movement on biodiversity, the
environment and human health.
"Such a law is urgent to ensure the country's overall safety in a
wide range covering agriculture, pharmaceuticals, trade and the
environment," Wang said.
Under the law, biotechnology in agricultural production needs to
undergo risk evaluation and regular inspections to reduce harm to
the ecosystem.
Transgenic plants with pest and disease problems could pose a
threat to other organisms while killing viruses, SEPA officials
said.
The law would also require risk evaluation on the mass production
of transgenic foods to protect human health, Wang said.
The law would spell out rules for evaluating and inspecting alien
species imports, including transgenic seeds, Wang said.
Xie Yan, a Chinese Academy of Sciences expert, said alien species
are often carried over via imported products. Some of these species
have a strong ability to adapt to local circumstances and may
cripple the local ecology's resistance to pests and natural
disasters by dramatically reducing the number of local species, Xie
said.
The central government has supported the development of modern
biotechnology to resolve problems with food production,
pharmaceuticals and environmental conservation, Zhu Jianqiu said
last month at an international workshop on biosaftey in
Beijing.
But Zhu also said the international community needs to iron out
recognized regulations and monitoring systems for the use of new
technologies.
China signed the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) on August 8, 2000, SEPA said.
The country is tentatively operating a biosafety information
exchanging centre with financial support from the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) to promote scientific co-operation and
to share expertise internationally.
China's Ministry of Agriculture actually drafted regulations on
trade of genetically modified agricultural products earlier this
year.
The regulations require all imported genetically modified soybeans,
corn, rapeseed, cottonseed and tomatoes to be clearly labelled GMO
products.
Overseas firms exporting GMO products to China must obtain
certificates from the ministry to ensure their goods are safe.
(China
Daily April 8, 2002)