My first morning at the Bonn biodiversity summit was exciting and I am now in full-lobbying mode! However, there is no news yet on the Terminator front as it's still not on the agenda and as far as some delegates have told me, it has not been discussed informally either. But I think that when it comes to Terminator technology, no news is definitely good news! – It means that pro-Terminator delegates and their biotech friends are aware that civil society is keeping a close eye on the issue and that if they dare bring it up (and make efforts to weaken the global moratorium on Terminator technology) we will react - and fight hard!
As expected, the two topics that have dominated negotiations so far have been agrofuels and GM trees. Apparently Brazil is pushing hard for the Convention on Biodiversity not to apply the precautionary principle to agrofuels – the principle that if something is potentially harmful, those arguing in it’s favour must prove it is not harmful before it can be allowed to go ahead. Argentina is supporting Brazil in this attempt (I am not happy to be Argentinean at this moment!). This is making some developing countries and NGOs go crazy. There's a side-event on agrofuels facilitated by Brazil where they'll present their arguments against the precautionary principle being applied - and there's a long queue outside the conference room already! I'll tell you more about Brazil's love story with biofuels after the session.
I have just spoken to the head of the Peruvian delegation and she told me she was quite satisfied with how negotiations had developed; she had successfully lobbied for changes in the text of the Convention, most of them related to the recognition of the importance of 'centres of origin' of biodiversity - such as Peru's case with the potato. Apparently, this comes with some sort of commitment for financial assistance to guarantee that these centres of origin are well preserved.
A delegate from Spain tells me that that the temperature is rising in the meeting rooms of the Maritime Hotel (where the convention is taking place) and that negotiations are approaching their climax! He was frustrated at the lack of scope for negotiation that individual European member states had. Because the European Union negotiates as a block, member states need to abide by the positions defined beforehand. Before each plenary session, all European delegates meet and agree on the issues to be discussed.
My plans for the rest of the day? Get in touch with the British delegation - they need to know that Progressio will do everything possible to discourage them from turning a blind eye to the ban on Terminator technology. And that if the issue does come up and the British delegation do not stand up against the pro-Terminator lobby, we will let them know that they will be letting down thousands of British citizens who ‘Said NO’ to Terminator seeds.
Sol
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There can be no doubt that public opinion in Britain remains overwhelmingly against GM, and would be even more strongly against allowing use of the terminator technology if it was understood that this would endanger food security across all developing countries and would worsen world poverty. Many thanks for lobbying so that this potentially devastating technology never sees the light of day.
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