Campaigners including Friends of Earth have said that they will fight a UN decision that could see plantations of GM trees grown in the wild. Earlier 150 countries that are party to the Convention on Biological Diversity refused to ban the controversial trees during their conference in Bonn, Germany. The environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth said the decision was bad news as native forests could be contaminated with the altered genes from nearby GM trees. Under the decision, members are allowed to ban the controversial trees in their own countries but with no international agreement. During the CoP meeting last month, African nations want a global moratorium, while a few rich countries led by Canada say it should be up to individual countries to regulate. This came after a UN funded study warned that developing countries don’t have the capacity to manage or monitor biotechnology.     

A new threat to the cotton crop in Haryana --

The cotton crop in Haryana, especially genetically modified Bt cotton, is under threat from mealy bug, which may cause extensive damage to the crop if not controlled in time, according to a media report. Previously it was American Bollworm which caused most damage to cotton crops. Though Bt cotton is pest-resistant, experts say it is only resistant to American bollworm and not mealy bug. The Agriculture Department is advising the farmers to make use of pesticides wherever there are signs of the bug.

Scientists write to minister on his pro-GM stance

Eminent scientists from various fields have written to Kapil Sibal, India’s Science & Technology Minister, urging him to refrain from being pro-GM in his stand and to become scientific and democratic in his understanding of  technology and its implications. They pointed out a recent UN study which shows that developing countries including India are vulnerable to bioterrorism attacks given the lack of technical, policy and enforcement capacities related to modern biotechnologies. The scientists also stated that transgenic technology is imprecise with unpredictable and irreversible consequences. 

Plan for GM regulatory authority may spark a turf war

The Department of Biotechnology has come up with a draft law to set up the national biotechnology regulatory authority. The body will provide "a single window mechanism for bio-safety clearance" of GM products and processes. The experts say that the new authority will shift regulatory power which is currently with the environment ministry to the department of biotechnology. It is important to note that this department is also dedicated to promoting biotechnology in agriculture.