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Press
release and invitation, 4 May 2004
GENETIC ENGINEERS - More than 130 environmental organisations and more
than 1200 individual With the petition the signed NGO:s and individuals protest the decision made last December in Milan in the context of the UN-lead Kyoto process to allow the use of genetically modified trees to tackle climate change. The petition states that this is in direct contravention of the principles of the Convention on Biological Diversity. -The risks for biosafety involved in the introduction of genetically modified trees are such that they extend over state borders as well as generations, and should therefore not be taken at the present state of knowledge, states Mikko Vartiainen, a lawyer and activist from People´s Biosafety Association in Finland. -We should follow a very tight precautionary principle with such risks. The petition presents the risks of contamination
for wild trees and forest ecosystems and the risks by horisontal
gene transfer from GM trees to -But there are several other big unsolved and unknown questions concerning the risks of GMOs, reminds Hannu Hyvönen, campaign coordinator at The Union of Ecoforestry in Finland. New poller allergies by GM
trees? -Introducing GM trees on the Earth could trigger a series of new pollen allergies. This kind of scenarios should not be ignored when making decisions which can have irreversible consequences. The world of the genome is still poorly understood. Scientists American (v.289, n.5 Nov 03) writes: "Just when scientists thought they had DNA almost figured out, they are discovering in chromosomes two vast, but largely hidden, layers of information that affect inheritance, development and disease." -It seems more and more obvious that genetic engineers are operating in the genetic environment like a blind bull in a china shop. If today´s science cannot any more define the concept of "genes", who can assure us the safety of genetic engineering, asks Hannu Hyvönen. The petition for a global ban on GM trees is presented in a side event at the UNFF´s fourth session on Tuesday 11 May at 1:15-2:25 p.m. in Geneva. Place: Room XXII, Palais des Nations, Avenue de la Paix. In the same event there is also a similar demand being presented by a campaign of Global Justice Ecology Project in US. More on GM trees and sustainable alternatives on the campaign sites: http://video.elonmerkki.net/forestforum , http://www.globaljusticeecology.org Contacts: Global
Ban on GM trees/ forestforum AT video.elonmerkki.net
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