CoP-11: Day One Sees GM Crops Discussion

The most awaited biodiversity meet, on day 1, swam through various topics. The meet was declared open by Jayanthi Natarajan, the Union minister of Environment And Forests, on October 1.

Around 1,000 delegates took part in the Meeting of Parties (MoP 6), which is aimed at focussing on the Cartagena Protocol on Bio-safety, which was adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) members in January 2000.

Special focus was given to Genitically Modified (GM) crops. Experts said that awareness about its risk management is very important at the government level.

Speakers went through a rough patch in coveying the benefits of GM crops to the audience, and why India should be pushed toward GM crops such as Bt cotton. They also stated that from various experimental observations, such as the soybean experiment in Bolivia, the use of GM crops has been proven beneficial to not only farmers but also consumers since its toxic content is less due to the minimal use of pesticide.

Meanwhile, sources say that around 12,000 candidates have registered for the meet. A special science express biodiversity special train was started from New Delhi on June 5, and will be reaching Secunderabad on October 9. It will be stationed here till the meet ends.

The CBD mainly aimed at including more member countries to sign the Cartagena Protocol, which deals with the safe handling, identification and transfer of living modified organisms (LMOs).

"India is committed to the development of biotechnology. But while LMOs are important for future growth, it is also controversial. Trade in LMOs cannot be done without looking at the adverse impact of such organisms," said Jayanthi Natarajan.

Speaking on this occasion, Natarajan said that India has already agreed to the protocol.