Biotech firms craft framework for settling claims for biodiversity

MANILA, Philippines - Six multinational companies engaged in biotechnology and the manufacture of agricultural inputs have crafted a framework for settling claims by countries whose biological diversity has been damaged by living modified organisms (LMOs).

United under CropLife International, the six companie— BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, Monsanto and Syngenta — said the compact contains a clearly defined, efficient, and fair process for countries to file and process such claims.

“The plant science industry’s commitment to stewardship and the responsible development and use of living modified organisms has helped to ensure there has been no negative impact on biological diversity for over 15 years of commercialization,” said Denise Dewar, executive director of Plant Biotech at CropLife International.

“It is this dedication to rigorous science-based risk assessment, risk management and stewardship that has made plant biotechnology an essential tool for farmers as they work to increase crop productivity and reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint, ” Simeon Cuyson, executive director of CropLife Philippines, added.

“This same dedication to science ensures that biotech crops introduced in the Philippines pass the stringent safety assessment standards that have been set up in the country,” Cuyson stressed.

Today, biotech crops are grown on 134 million hectares in 25 countries, including several major agricultural exporting countries.

In the Philippines, biotech corn has been planted to an aggregated total of about 1.5 million hectares since 2002.

Guidelines on the import, transfer, handling, and domestic use of living modified organisms, including how to address damage to biological diversity, can have significant impact on international trade.

The introduction of The Compact provides States assurance of an objective and independent procedure for evaluating and arbitrating claims of, and remedying damage to, biological diversity.

The implementation of such a framework supports smooth trade transactions in the agricultural community.

The compact was first introduced in May 2008 to National Governments and food value chain stakeholders as a first since it was an innovative private sector-established option to domestic and international liability laws that provides redress and financial security in the unlikely event of damage to biological diversity caused by LMOs.

Since 2008, the Compact’s founding members have developed the framework and guidelines for filing and arbitrating claims.

The Compact defines a clear, science-based process for resolving claims alleging damage to biological diversity where binding decisions are made by independent commissioners and arbitrators under the auspices of Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) located in The Hague.