The Daily Observer (Banjul)
Fatoumata Senghore and Fatoumata Baldeh
5 November 2009
A day's sensitisation workshop for regional governors and policy makers on the national biosafety framework was held yesterday at the Laico Atlantic Hotel in Banjul.
The aim of the workshop was to sensitise the regional governors and policy makers on the National Biosafety Framework and Bill which will ensure that The Gambia is ready to protect her people and the environment from potentially dangerous and /or hazardous biotechnology application and products.
Delivering his statement, Jato Sillah, the minister of Forestry and Environment, pointed out that biotechnology or the applications of technology that use biological systems, living organisms, or their derivatives to modify products or processes for a specific use, is being utilised since man's first attempt to domesticate for example wild crops and livestock for the well being of the people. According to him, further advancement in science and technology has paved the way in the development of genetic engineering about two decades or more ago.
This he added has resulted in the use of recombinant DNA techniques to make new combinations of heritable material, capable of continued propagation through normal processes. "It is imperative therefore that appropriate mechanisms are in place to regulate such applications and with this in mind, a national biosafety taskforce is being formed as an inter-disciplinary working group to design the National Biosafety Framework and Bill which will be submitted to the National Assembly for endorsement and approval," he said. Sillah described the sensitisation as of paramount importance in view of the generating greater awareness of the Gambia's National Biosafety Framework and Draft Bill (which is the supporting legal instrument) prior to the presentation of the documents before the National Assembly for approval.
He took the opportunity to thank President Jammeh and government, development partners especially UNEP and GEF, who provided the financial support for the preparation of the documents and the series of consultation in readiness to present a well refined document to the National Assembly. For his part, Momodou B Sarr, the executive director, National Environment Agency (NEA), said the document is prepared for the interest of protecting the environment and the health of the Gambian people.
He reminded participants of the rapid development in modern biotechnology creating more genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and living modified organisms (LMOs) each year. According to him, new crops have recently been genetically modified to become more resistant to drought and pests. Others he added have been manipulated to contain higher levels of vitamins and other nutrients.
"Without doubt such scientific innovations have significant positive impacts on food security especially in our part of the world. Pest contributes most significantly to our post-harvest losses. Therefore, pest-resistant crops created through modern biotechnology also enhance our food security," he said.
He highlighted some of the risks with this new technology which every body he noted must be conscious of. "One imminent risk is the mitigation of the new genes from their target organisms to non-target organisms. Another risk is that if unregulated by strict international legislation, the experimental living modified organism could escape from labs under controlled conditions into the wider environment causing catastrophic results," he warned.
He then noted that in its efforts to put in place mechanisms to prevent the harmful effects of modern biotechnology to the environment and the health of the people, The Gambia, through the new bill, will prepare for the challenges that are bound to come as more living modified organisms are being erected and coming in contact with the people.
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