Gene Campaign's research and advocacy work has resulted in some modest achievements. Much, however, remains to be done.

The Ministry of Environment was persuaded to begin drafting a Biodiversity law to protect the country's biodiversity.

Some degree of awareness has been created across the country about the GATT/TRIPS, Intellectual Property Rights in life forms and their socio-economic impact in India, Seed Patents and their effects on the rural economy, the recognition of the rights of rural communities etc. This is only a start. A lot needs to be done in this direction.

Gene Campaign held the first demonstrations in India to protest GATT/TRIPS and Seed and Life Form patents. Demos and marches by our Core Groups backed this in various States. These actions were crucial in creating political awareness and focussing national attention on this issue which had received no attention till then.

District and village level awareness meetings and demonstrations in key political constituencies led to the sensitisation of some important MPs. This in turn resulted in the government at least tabling the GATT/TRIPS issue for discussion in Parliament. This was significant in view of the fact that the government was trying not to let this subject come up in Parliament before ratification of the GATT in April 1994.

Our demand for a Parliamentary Standing Committee to hear views from all sides and make a recommendation to Parliament before signing the Uruguay Round was acceded to. Although this did not stop the government from accepting damaging conditions in GATT, it did help to sensitise MPs and opened the door through which more pressure could be applied.

The Farmers Rally of March 3, 1993, which we organised in Delhi with three major farmers organisations, led to a high level of awareness in the farming community and created strong political pressure on this issue.

Gene Campaign has been active in having public interest clauses included in the Patent Amendment Act. It lobbied for protection of Indigenous Knowledge, which included exemption for products based on Indian Systems of Medicine so that community knowledge was protected. It has succeeded in blocking gene and cell patents and has proposed a highly restrictive definition of microorganisms for the purpose of the Patent Amendment Bill.

Gene Campaign has intervened strongly in the drafting of India s sui generis legislation. The Plant Variety Protection & Farmers Rights Act includes important provisions like recognizing farmer innovation and a benefit sharing mechanism in the form of the National Gene Fund. As a result of Gene Campaign's strong and sustained work, the Indian law has a well-defined Farmers' Right. It is the only law in the world which grants explicit rights to farmers.

In consultation with NGOs and legal experts, Gene Campaign had provided the first draft for a Biological Diversity Bill. Subsequently, Gene Campaign mobilized political support to pressurize the Ministry of Environment and Forests to start the process to finalize a biodiversity law for India. Gene Campaign was a member of the Expert Committee that finalized the National Biodiversity Bill. Some components of Gene Campaign's draft Bill, which empower local communities, are included - notably the direct representation of rural and adivasi communities, specially women but the Biodiversity Act has been substantially altered.

Gene Campaign began a campaign for the protection of Indian agricultural products like Basmati rice and Darjeeling tea in 1996. We together with NGOs like the Berne Declaration and RAFI, it ran an international campaign against the Rice Tec patent on Basmati Rice. Sustained lobbying by civil society groups for a law specifying the products for which India claims geographically indicated rights, led to the Act on Geographical Indication, 1999.

Advocacy work with the academic community in Germany was instrumental in persuading the German Academy of Sciences to hold an international seminar on "Patenting of Genes and Living Organisms". Two papers presented by Dr M S Swaminathan and Dr Suman Sahai helped in bringing the South's objection to these patents before an influential international community of scientists, officials, lawyers and politicians.