Links on Trade & Environment

General I Fisheries I Biotechnology I IPRs I Forests

Biotechnology

Info Sources | Intergovernmental Bodies | NGOs | Capacity-Building Initiatives | Research Institutions | Industry

Info Sources

• AgBio World's AgBio View aims to provide science-based information on agricultural biotechnology issues to various stakeholders across the world and provides news, research updates and commentary for anyone interested in the latest on advances in plant science, agricultural research and sustainable food production.
  
  
• AgBios News is dedicated to providing public policy, regulatory, and risk assessment expertise for products of biotechnology and includes a comprehensive and up-to-date listing of current biotech policy news.
  
  
• Agricultural Biotechnology Information is maintained by US Agricultural schools in order to make information on agricultural biotechnology available to the public and to participate in the dialogue about the benefits and risks of this new technology, which fast is becoming a part of our everyday lives.
  
  
• The Asian Biotechnology and Development Review is published by RIS India to generate wider awareness of the issues involved and emerging developments in the area of biotechnologies.ABDR is being managed and guided by leading experts and commentators on technology issues. It is supported by Life Science Division of UNESCO and Department of Biotechnology of Government of India. This Journal is abstracted in Cab International and Science of Science, of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi.
  
  
• The Biosafety Clearing-House (BCH) is an information exchange mechanism established by the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to assist Parties to implement its provisions and to facilitate sharing of information on, and experience with, living modified organisms (LMOs).
  
  
• The Biotech Independent Media Centre is dedicated to biotechnology and genetic engineering in agriculture, food, medicine as well as its relevance to globalisation and aims to connect activists and international media centres, as well as concerned groups and individuals from around the world, by learning about one another and our actions.
  
  
• Third World Network's Biosafety Information Centre provides a wide range of information related to biosafety; shares developments and experiences on biosafety policies, laws and practices as they evolve at the international, regional and national levels; and promotes the implementation of sustainable systems for agriculture, health and ecological integrity.
  
  
• Monsanto's Biotech Knowledge Centre provides news information on biotechnology science, policy and research.
  
  
• Checkbiotech compiles news from around the world on biotechnology.
  
  
• EcoNexus is a not-for-profit public interest research organisation and science watchdog offering a rigorous scientific critique of genetic engineering (GE) and genetically modified organisms and their impacts of GE on the environment, health, food security, agriculture, human rights and society.
  
  
• The Electronic Journal of Biotechnology is an international scientific electronic journal that covers molecular biology and the chemistry of biological process to aquatic and earth environmental aspects, as well as computational applications, policy and ethical issues directly related to biotechnology.
  
  
• The EU Biotechnology Portal provides detail on how the EU's regulatory system for GMOs works.
  
  
• FAO-BioDeC is a database from the Food and Agricultural Organization Biotechnologies in Developing Countries Programme that includes information on the acceptance of biotech crops and biosafety regulatory instruments in developing countries.
  
  
• The Food Safety Network provides a variety of information on food safety and biotechnology topics, including through listserves and a biotechnology and trade website.
  
  
• The Meridian Institute's Food Security and Ag-Biotech News, known as FS-AgBiotech News, for short, is a free daily e-mail news service that covers important global developments regarding the controversy over agricultural biotechnology, with an emphasis on issues relating to agriculture and food security.
  
  
• GeneWatch is a US magazine dedicated to monitoring biotechnology’s social, ethical and environmental consequences. It covers a broad spectrum of issues, from genetically engineered foods to biological weapons, genetic privacy and discrimination, reproductive technologies, and human cloning, and requires a paid subscription.
  
  
• The International Service for the Aquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA)'s Global Knowledge Center on Crop Biotechnology contains a news section called "Crop Biotech Update", annual statistics and analysis of the global status of commercialised GM/biotechech crops, and short briefing documents on biotech issues.
  
  
• World News Networks' GM Guide provides news on GM-related issues from a variety of sources.
  
  
• The International Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health, co-ordinated by the FAO, includes a variety of information on sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) requirements, including a section on biotechnology that has national biotech and biosafety legislation, notifications to the WTO, Codex Alimentarius, IPPC and OIE along with other relevant documents.
  
  
• Library of Crop Technology Lesson Modules provide animated and entertaining explanations of the science behind genetic modification.
  
  
• Nature Journal aims to provide the world's premier information resource for the basic biological and physical sciences and their biotechnology website includes scientific articles on biotechnology and related topics.
  
  
• The Science and Development Network (SciDevNet) aims to enhance the provision of reliable and authoritative information on science- and technology-related issues that impact on the economic and social development of developing countries and their biotechnology website examines the scientific and social implications of GM crops.
  
  
• MIT's Technology Review provides information on the latest technological developments.
  
  



Intergovernmental Bodies
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International | Regional

International

• The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by FAO and WHO to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts on topics and its standards are recognized by the World Trade Organization's as being consistant with the WTO's Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS Agreement). It has or is currently negotiationing standards on topics such as risk analysis, food safety assessment and labelling of biotech foods.
  
  
• The Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat monitors, implements, researches, provides information and hosts negotiations on the CBD and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
  

• The International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) is an international treaty to secure action to prevent the spread and introduction of pests of plants and plant products, and to promote appropriate measures for their control. It is governed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (ICPM) which adopts International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) including on biotech-related issues.
  
  
• The Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Internal Co-ordination Group for biotechnology facilitates co-operation between the various OECD activities and produces a newsletter, Biotechnology Update, which summarises developments at OECD, gives notice of upcoming meetings, and identifies key contact points. They also provide a link to the OECD’s Working Group for Harmonisation in Biotechnology; BioTrack Online, which focuses on information related to the regulatory oversight of products of modern biotechnology; and the Forum on Knowledge Economy.
  
  
• UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) biotechnology department looks at national and regional biosafety regulatory frameworks and their impact on international trade.
  
  
• The UN Environment Programme Global Environment Facility (UNEP-GEF) provides capacity-building and technical assistance aimed at assisting countries to be prepared for the coming into force of the Biosafety Protocol through the establishment of national biosafety frameworks (NBFs).
  
  
• The UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture works to ensure the conservation and sustainable utilization of genetic resources for food and agriculture, as well the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from their use, for present and future generations, including through government meetings and negotiations on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), which aims to create an alternative access and benefit sharing regime for selected crops.
  
  
• The UN FAO Inter-departmental Working Group on Biotechnology (FAO IDWGB) coordinates the FAO's work to assist its member countries, particularly developing countries, to reap the benefits derived from the application of biotechnologies in agriculture, forestry and fisheries through policy advice, technical assistance, regulatory aspects, information, dissemination and monitoring.
  
  
• The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) adopts international standards on measures toprevent the spread and introduction of pests of plants and plant products, and to promote appropriate measures for their control that are recognized by the World Trade Organization's as being consistant with the WTO's Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS Agreement). It is currently considering developing standards on biotechnology issues.
  
  
• The World Trade Organization (WTO) works to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible by enforcing the WTO Agreements, working towards the further liberalisation of international trade through ongoing negotiations and resolving disagreeements, including on biotechnology, through the dispute settlement process.

Regional

• The African Forum on Science and Technology for Development was established by the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to promote the application of science and technology for economic growth and poverty reduction.
  
  
• African Policy Dialogues on Biotechnology are organised by NEPAD and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) designed to enable African countries to make informed choices and establish policies and strategies to respond to developments associated with biotechnology.
  
  
• North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was created by Canada, Mexico and the United States under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC). The CEC was established to address regional environmental concerns, help prevent potential trade and environmental conflicts, and to promote the effective enforcement of environmental law. The Agreement complements the environmental provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). It also performs and organises research on biotech-related topics, such as biotech maize in Mexico, based upon public appeal.
  
  

   

Non-Governmental Organisations
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International | Africa | Asia | Latin America | Europe | North America | Australia and New Zealand

International

• Action Aid is an international development agency whose aim is to fight poverty worldwide -- not by imposing solutions, but by working with communities over many years to strengthen their own efforts to throw off poverty.
  
  
• Biotechnology Advisory Center of the Stockholm Environment Institute (BAC-SEI) was established to help meet the challenge of biosafety capacity building in developing countries, including through nurturing the existing scientific and technical knowledge residing in national and regional governments; enhancing access to world wide information systems and a network of science experts; and, through shared experience, maximising the utilisation of this information by national authorities to achieve their goals.
  
  
• The Centre for International Environmental Law is a nonprofit organization working to use international law and institutions to protect the environment, promote human health, and ensure a just and sustainable society.
  
  
• Chatham House aims to stimulate debate and research on political, business, security and other key issues in the international arena.
  
  
• Consumers International defends the rights of all consumers, particularly the poor and marginalised, through empowering national consumer groups and campaigning at the international level.
  
  
• The Council for Information on Biotech provides information in Portuguese on a scientific basis regarding biotechnology and its different applications in order to stimulate the dissemination of information from international and national research in Brazil. The Council aims to be a centre for information for journalists, researchers and others interested in biotechnology.
  
  
• EcoLomics International aims to make a contribution toward an improved balance between inter-generational ecological objectives and more short-term economic priorities. Focuses on environment and trade issues, biotechnology and the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
  
  
• ETC Group (Action Group on Erosion, Technology and Concentration) is dedicated to the conservation and sustainable advancement of cultural and ecological diversity and human rights. To this end, ETC group supports socially responsible developments of technologies useful to the poor and marginalized and it addresses international governance issues and corporate power.
  
  
• Flora & Fauna International is the world's longest established international conservation body and has pioneered sustainable conservation work that tackles problems holistically, providing solutions that simultaneously help wildlife, humans and the environment.
  
  
• Foundation for International Environmental Law and Development (FIELD) is a non-governmental organisation bringing together public international lawyers committed to the promotion of environmental protection and sustainable development through law.
  
  
• Friends of the Earth International is a federation of autonomous environmental organizations from all over the world that campaign on the most urgent environmental and social issues of our day, while simultaneously catalyzing a shift toward sustainable societies.
  
  
• GRAIN is an international non-governmental organisation which promotes the sustainable management and use of agricultural biodiversity based on people's control over genetic resources and local knowledge.
  
  
• Greenpeace is an independent non-profit campaigning organisation working on global threats to biodiversity and the environment.
  
  
• International Environmental Law Research Centre is an independent, non-profit research organisation that aims to contribute to the establishment of legal and institutional frameworks which foster sustainable environmental management in developing countries in an equitable international context.
  
  
• Nuffield Council on Bioethics identifies, examines and reports on the ethical questions raised by recent advances in biological and medical research.
  
  
• The Panos Institute aims to ensure that the perspectives of the people whose lives are most affected by development (mainly the poor and marginalised) are included within decision-making and that decisions are subject to their scrutiny and debate; to illuminate and provide insights from developing countries into issues facing us globally; and to stimulate informed, enlightened discussion around such issues.
  
  
• The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology was established in 2001 to be an independent and objective source of credible information on agricultural biotechnology for the public, media and policymakers. It neither advocates for, nor against, agricultural biotechnology; instead, the Initiative is committed to providing information and encouraging debate and dialogue so that consumers and policymakers can make their own informed decisions.
  
  
• Programme for Biosafety Systems (PBS) supports partner countries including Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, East and West Africa as they develop the policy and legal framework, adminisrative procedures, technically qualified personnel and outreach mechanisms integral to their national biosafety systems.
  
  
• WWF is a global conservation organisation that aims to stop and eventually reverse environmental degradation through a combination of action on the ground, national and international advocacy work, and international campaigns to highlight and demonstrate solutions to environmental problems in order to build a sustainable future.
  

Africa
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• ACTS (African Centre for Technology Studies) is a Nairobi-based international intergovernmental science, technology and environmental policy think-tank that generates and disseminates new knowledge through policy analysis, capacity building and outreach to rationalize scientific and technological information to enable African countries make effective policy choices for improved living standards.
  
  
• African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) is a not-for-profit foundation that is designed to facilitate public-private partnerships for the access and delivery of appropriate technologies to the resource-poor smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.
  
  
• AfricaBio is a non-political, non-profit biotechnology association for the safe, ethical and responsible research, development and application of biotechnology and its products. The Association also serves as a forum for informed dialogue on biotechnological issues in Africa.
  
  
• Africa Biotechnology Stakeholders' Forum (ABSF) is a platform for addressing the issues surrounding biotechnology in agriculture, health, industry and environment. ABSF aims to create an innovative and enabling environment for the adoption of biotechnology in Africa through education, and enhancing understanding and awareness of all aspects of biotechnology, biosafety and intellectual property rights.
  
  
• Africa Harvest Biotech Foundation International is a non-profit foundation that implements needs-driven programs and provides practical solutions to challenges facing resource-poor smallholder farmers in rural communities.
  
  
• African Centre for Biosafety is committed to promoting the publication of the views and concerns of African civil society groups on the African continent and world wide on issues relating to biosafety and solidarity amongst these groups.
  
  
• African Technology Policy Studies Network is a multi-disciplinary network of researchers, policy makers and other end-users interested in the generation, promotion and strengthening of innovative technology/industrial policies in Africa.
  
  
• Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) Biotechnology and Biosafety Program promotes the development and dissemination of relevant demand-driven biotechnologies for resource poor farmers as well as appropriate policies and regulations in the areas of biosafety and intellectual property rights.
  
  
• BIO-EARN (East African Regional Programme and Research Network for Biotechnology, Biosafety and Biotechnology Policy Development) aims to build capacity in biotechnology in Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and promote appropriate research and related policies. The Programme aims to use biotechnology in a sustainable manner in order to help improve livelihoods, ensure food security and safeguard the environment.
  
  
• Biotechnology Trust Africa is promoting the application of biotechnology to improve agricultural production and environmental practices. BTA has developed biosafety guidelines and mechanisms for Kenya, and provides training for researchers, extensionists and farmers.
  
  
• BioWatch is a South African non-governmental organisation that works to publicise, monitor and research issues of genetic engineering and promote biological diversity and sustainable livelihoods.
  
  
• Community Technology and Development Trust, Zimbabwe aimst to strengthen farmers' seed management skills and their relation with the policy context at the national and international level.
  
  

• Consumers International Regional Office for Africa (CI-ROAF) aims to increase consumer awareness among the various stakeholders to ensure the protection of the economic interests of African consumers.
  
  

• The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) AfriCenter aims to contribute to poverty alleviation, by increasing crop productivity and income generation, particularly for resource-poor farmers, and to bring about a safer environment and more sustainable agricultural development. Their Africa office, based in Kenya, works on the introduction and farm-level evaluation of new biotechnologies for banana, trees and sweet potato.
  
  

• Kenya Small Scale Farmers' Forum aims to increase small-scale farmer participation in national policy-making on GMOs and, through the Thika Declaration, has declared their opposition to to adoption of GMOs owing to environmental and patenting concerns.
  
  

• Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) Association is a network of civil society organisations working with local communities in the areas of sustainable agriculture and natural resource management in nine countries, with over 150 organisations, in east and southern Africa, including this branch in Zambia.
  

Asia
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• BioThai (Biodiversity Action Thailand) is an NGO that recognises the importance of biodiversity and its close connections to the livelihood systems of local communities and campaigns on concerns and impacts on health and safety of genetically modified (GM) crops and food along with other biodiversity-related issues including intellectual property rights.
  
  
• Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA) is an Indian NGO that works to develop alternate strategies to modern chemicalised and market dependent agriculture through works on non-pesticidal management and self reliance in seed.
  
  
• Development of Biotechnology and Environmental Conservation Center (DEBTEC) is a group of dedicated scientists that are committed to a mission of harnessing Science and Technology for poverty alleviation and environmentally sustainable social and economic development in Bangladesh and perform research, among other activities, to achieve this goal.
  
  
• Environmental Foundation Ltd (EFL) is a Sri Lankan NGO that aims to protect and conserve the environment for all beings, human and animal and hopes to do so by promoting sustainable development, integrating environmental concerns into decision-making through a transparent and participatory process.
  
  
• Gene Campaign is working in India to empower local communities to retain control over their genetic resources in order to ensure food and livelihood security and is demanding transparency, public participation, accountability and competence in GM crop regulations.
  
  
• Greenpeace China works on the most crucial threats to the biodiversity and environment of our country and planet by promoting open, informed debate about China’s environmental choices. Their Genetic Engineering campaign focuses on GM rice in China.
  
  
• The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) SEAsia Center aims to contribute to poverty alleviation, by increasing crop productivity and income generation, particularly for resource-poor farmers, and to bring about a safer environment and more sustainable agricultural development. Their Asia office achieves this by developing the necessary national and regaional capacities to acquire, develop and safely deploy important crop-biotechnology applications and products.
  
  
• Pesticide Action Network Asia-Pacific (PANAP) aims to protect the safety and health of people and the environment from pesticide use and genetic engineering and hopes to achieve these goals by empowering people within effective networks in the Asia Pacific region and around the world through people-centred, pro-women development through sustainable agriculture.
  
  
• SEARICE (Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment) works towards community-based conservation, development and utilization of plant genetic resources, and in policy advocacy and lobbying work related to the issues of agricultural biodiversity, biotechnology, intellectual property rights and access to genetic resources. These activities are implemented at varying degrees in different countries in Southeast Asia.
  
  
• South Asia Biosafety Program (SAPB) is a project of the collaboration between Agriculture & Biotechnology Strategies (AGBIOS) Canada and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) that builds on existing efforts to advise governments on enhancing and streamlining government systems to realize the benefits of agricultural biotechnology within a transparent, efficient and responsive regulatory framework that ensures the safety of new foods and animal feeds, and protects the environment.
  

Latin America
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• Accion Ecologica de Ecuador (Ecologic Action Ecuador) questions the environmental and social implications of the developmental model currently being used in Ecuador by introducing new environmental themes into the public debate and revealing posistions and interests.
  
  
• AS-PTA Assessoria e Serviços a Projetos em Agricultura Alternativa (ASPTA) is a Brazilian NGO that aims at promoting and strenghtening the sustainable development of Brasilian agriculture through local action that directly involves helping farmer families and organizations to face technical and socio-political barriers to their development. At the national and regional levels, AS-PTA, through partnership, networking and information exchange to strenghten and build capacity in terms of agriculture public policy
  formulation.
  
  
• Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental (CEMDA) is an NGO aiming to contribute to the coordination and unification of efforts for the defence of the environment through strenghtening, consolidating and harmonizing application and compliance with the Brazilian legal system.
  
  
• Institute Latinoamericano de Servicios Legales Alternativos (ILSA) is a Colombian nongovernmental institute that provides alternative legal assistance and publishes electronic bulletins about globalization and justice on their homepage, books about several issues of civil society´s interest, and a magazine called El Otro Derecho.
  
  

• Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental (SDPA) is an NGO working on environmental law in Brazil.

• Blog del Proyecto de Bioseguridad de Puerto Rico. Organización formada en mayo de 2004 para educar a la ciudadanía acerca de las implicaciones éticas, ecológicas, políticas, económicas y de salud pública de los cultivos y productos genéticamente alterados, también llamados transgénicos.
  

• ActionAid UK believes that poor people's control of food is under threat from global trade agreements dominated by rich nations and profit-driven multinationals. International corporations and institutions such as the WTO, IMF and World Bank have a huge impact on poor people's daily lives and works to influence these institutions and national governments.
  
  
• European NGO Network on Genetic Engineering (GENET) is an European network of non-governmental non-profit organisations engaged in the critical debate of genetic engineering that works to provide information on genetic engineering for the member organisations and the interested public via email-lists and to coordinate activities and campaigns.
  
  
• Gene Watch UK is a not-for-profit group that monitors developments in genetic technologies from a public interest, environmental protection and animal welfare perspective. GeneWatch believes people should have a voice in whether or how these technologies are used and campaigns for safeguards for people, animals and the environment. We work on all aspects of genetic technologies - from GM crops and foods to genetic testing of humans.
  
  
• GM Watch has developed a particular focus on the use of hype, propaganda and spin to promote this technology, and on exposing the role played by corporate-friendly scientists, industry front groups, PR companies, lobbyists, and political groups.
  

North America
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• AgBio World aims to provide science-based information on agricultural biotechnology issues to various stakeholders across the world. The AgBioWorld 'Declaration in Support of Agricultural Biotechnology' has been endorsed by over 3,400 scientists, including 25 Nobel Laureates.
  
  
• AgBios (Agriculture & Biotechnology Strategies) is a Canadian company dedicated to providing public policy, regulatory, and risk assessment expertise for products of biotechnology. AGBIOS has worked with federal departments and agencies on issues of policy and regulation pertaining to genetically modified and other novel foods, crops, and forest tree species. Has biotech crop database, news and more.
  
  
• The Campaign to Label Genetically Engineered Foods is a national grassroots consumer campaign that lobbyies Congress and the President to pass legislation that will require the labeling of genetically engineered foods in the United States.
  
  
• Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee (CBAC) provides expert advice to the federal government on ethical, social, regulatory, economic, scientific, environmental and health aspects of biotechnology.It was established by the national government with a mandate to provide comprehensive advice on current policy issues associated with the ethical, legal, social, regulatory, economic, scientific, environmental and health aspects of biotechnology. It is also tasked with providing Canadians with easy-to-understand information on biotechnology issues, and providing opportunities for Canadians to voice their views on the matters on which CBAC is offering advice to the Government.
  
  
• Canadian Environmental Network is an independent, non-partisan organization that actively encourages and supports those who take part in public consultation processes, participate in working groups, or who are delegates to national and international conferences. The biotechnology working group looks at, among other issues, the socio-economic impacts related to the privatization of the global genome.
  
  
• Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy aims to inform and guide the formulation of policy that affects the environment and sustainability through the provision of objective research that seeks to address emerging issues on various environmental topics and sustainability.
  
  
• The Centre for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)'s biotechnology programme aims to provide accurate identification of the risks and benefits of agricultural biotechnology, ensure that the U.S. regulatory system is up to the task of preventing significant risk, and keep the public informed about scientific concerns, government policies, and corporate practices concerning genetically engineered (GE) plants, animals, and other organisms that are released into the environment or that may end up in our foods.
  
  
• Council for Responsible Genetics is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that aims to foster public debate about the social, ethical and environmental implications of genetic technologies.
  
  
• Council on Biotechnology Information communicates science-based information about the benefits and safety of agricultural and food biotechnology. Its members are the leading biotechnology companies and trade associations.
  
  
• The George Morris Centre is a Canada-wide, not-for-profit organization based in Guelph, Ontario. As an independent think-tank, the Centre provides industry decision makers with critical information and analysis on issues affecting the Canadian agri-food sector.
  
  
• Inter Pares builds relationships of common cause with activist groups around the world who share our analysis that poverty and under-development are caused by structural inequalities among and within nations and who are working to promote social and economic justice in their communities and societies. We support communities in developing countries to create healthy, safe and secure futures.
  
  
• International Food Information Council (IFIC) is supported primarily by the broad-based food, beverage and agricultural industries and aims to communicate science-based information on food safety and nutrition to health and nutrition professionals, educators, journalists, government officials and others providing information to consumers.
  
  
• The Union of Concerned Scientists is an independent nonprofit alliance of more than 100,000 concerned citizens and scientists that aims to augment rigorous scientific analysis with innovative thinking and committed citizen advocacy to build a cleaner, healthier environment and a safer world.

Australia & New Zealand
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• GeneNetwork Australia promotes critical community education, discussion and debate on the economic, market, environmental, social and ethical impacts of genetic engineering (GE) technologies and seeks to have the precautionary principle rigorously applied to all uses of GE.

Capacity-Building Initiatives
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• UN Environment Programme Global Environmental Facility (UNEP-GEF) aims to assist countries to comply with the Cartagena Biosafety Protocol through the establishment of national biosafety frameworks.
  
  
• The Africa-wide Capacity Building Programme in Biosafety, organised by the Commission of the African Union, has a program which includes development of technical papers, handbooks and information kits on Biosafety; Establishment of an analytical pilot laboratory in Africa for GMOs and strengthening, in a second phase, of existing Institutions in Africa in the field; Assistance for formulation of national laws in biosafety; and Training in risk assessment and management in biosafety.
  
  
• Biosafety Capacity-Building Project in China: Data Management, Promoting Expertise and Awareness Raising, coordinated by the Nanjing Institute for Environmental Sciences (NIES) and German Agency for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), focuses on national institutional investigation and database development for contained research, environmental release and commercial production of GMOs in China, publication of a bi-monthly biosafety newsletter and a compilation for EU legislation on Biosafety, organization of international and national workshops on biosafety and development of public participation framework for government.
  
  
• The South Asia Biosafety Program (SABP), organised by Agriculture & Biotechnology Strategies (AGBIOS) Canada, aims to help facilitate safe and sustainable growth of the ag-biotech sector in India and Bangladesh and to assist the two Governments to strengthen institutional governance of agricultural biotechnology, i.e. supporting existing initiatives to strengthen the biosafety systems in both countries; and facilitating access to technologies that are in development.
  
  
• UNU/BIOLAC Biosafety Project on Developing Guidelines for Latin America and the Caribbean, organised by the United Nations University (UNU) Biotechnology for Latin America and Caribbean (BIOLAC), aims to promote proper development and implementation of regulations and knowledge required to assess and manage the safety risks involved in the commercialisation of modern biotechnological products in the agricultural and agri-food sectors by developing capacity building and skills for research and technical institutions in the public and private sector to enable them to deal with the challenges imposed by GMOs.
  
  
• The Uganda Agricultural Productivity Enhancement Program (APEP) is a five-year USAID-funded activity that commenced implementation in November 2003. APEP aims to expand rural economic opportunities and increase household income in the agricultural sector by increasing food and cash crop productivity and marketing.
  
  
• The World Resources Institute (WRI) Project on Implementing the Biosafety Protocol includes a set of activities that develop and promote mechanisms for public participation in biotechnology decisions, both at the national and international level, ensuring that, among other considerations, the socio-economic implications of the Protocol are taken into account.
  

Research Institutions
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• Biotec is one of the centres of the National Science and Technology Development Agency ( NSTDA ) in Thailand. It aims to induce dynamics in research, development and application of biotechnology in order to support technology development and adoption in both public and private institutions. This is achieved through establishing research programs, which include funding and program management, as well as establishing research laboratories in collaboration with universities and government agencies.
  
  
• The African Centre for Gene Technologies is a national centre of expertise in 3rd generation biotechnology, is an initiative established by the CSIR and the University of Pretoria under the SERA banner, with increasing involvement by other organizations, to create a world-class platform in gene technologies, with particular focus on gene and genome analysis and applications thereof.
  
  
• The Asia Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI) promotes the development of National Agricultural Research Systems in the region through a regional collaboration network on priority programmes focusing on human resources development, policy advocacy, and technology transfer.
  
  
• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is a UK funding agency that performs research in the life sciences to support the agriculture, food, chemical, healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.
  
  
• Ethiopian Agricultural Research Organization conducts innovative research on priority food and tree crops, livestock, and natural resources in the 18 major agro-ecologies of Ethiopia and provides national scientific leadership in agricultural research by nationally coordinating research and strengthening the capacity of their partners.
  
  
• Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) is an umbrella organization bringing together coalitions of stakeholders in agricultural R&D throughout Africa. FARA complements the activities of national, regional and international research institutions to deliver responsive and effective services to improve agricultural productivity.
  
  
• Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research (IGER) makes scientific contributions to forage-related plant breeding, plant biology and genetics, animal science and nutrition, organic dairying, soil science and agro-ecology.
  
  
• The International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) is an international organisation dedicated to advanced research and training in molecular biology and biotechnology, with special regard to the needs of the developing world.
  
  
• The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) is a non-profit and non-political research organization that serves the poorest of the poor in the semi-arid areas of the developing world. We use science as a means to serve the poor, not as an end in itself.
  
  
• The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center is committed to improving livelihoods in developing countries through strong science and effective partnerships that create, share, and use knowledge and technology to increase food security, improve the productivity and profitability of farming systems, and sustain natural resources.
  
  
• The Kenya Agricultural Research Institute promotes sound agricultural research, technology generation and dissemination to ensure food security through improved productivity and environmental conservation.
  
  
• LEI (Agricultural Economics Research Institute) is one of the research institutes at the Wageningen University and Research Centre and it performs economic research in the field of agriculture, horticulture and fisheries, the management of rural areas, agribusiness and the production and consumption of foodstuffs.
  
  
• Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, China, performs research on biotechnological crops including GM rice.
  
  
• NORAGRIC, the Department of International Environment and Development Studies at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, focuses on research, education (Master's and PhD programmes) and assignments focusing in particular on developing countries and countries with economies in transition.
  
  
• Public Research and Regulation Foundation aims to involve the public research sector in regulations relevant to the development and application of biotechnology, and works on GURTs, liability, CBD article 8(j), risk assessment, the Cartagena Protocol and related topics.
  
  
• World Resources Institute (WRI) is an independent nonprofit organization with a staff of more than 100 scientists, economists, policy experts, business analysts, statistical analysts, mapmakers, and communicators working to protect the Earth and improve people's lives.
  

Industry

• The Brazilian Association of Biotech Companies (ABRABI) was established in 1986 with the objective to promote the development of the biotechnology in Brazil and to promote the companies' interests.
  
  
• EuropaBio, the European Association for Bioindustries, represents almost 50 member companies operating worldwide, 7 associate organisations, 2 regions and 25 national biotechnology associations. Through our associations EuropaBio is also the voice of 1500 small and medium-sized enterprises involved in research, development, testing, manufacturing and commercialisation of biotechnology applications.
  
  
• Monsanto International
  
  
• Novartis International
  
  
• Syngenta International
  
  
  

  
  
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