Integrating Science, Dialogue, and Stewardship for Forest Biotechnology

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1 Integrating Science, Dialogue, and Stewardship for Forest Biotechnology CFS LFC Seminar Series November 15, 2012 Susan McCord

2 Everyone Loves Trees!

3 Trees are Different Characteristics Food Crops / Croplands Trees / Forests Lifespan Months years Decades centuries 1 Breeding cycle 1 year or less Multiple years Pollen spread Dozens of Km Hundreds of Km Wildlife habitat & refuge Low High CO 2 sequestration potential Low High H 2 0 Cleansing Low High Food calorie production High Low Global acreage 1.6 billion hectares 3.9 billion hectares Hunting, hiking, camping, exploring Not often Yes!

4 Why Biotech Trees? Forests are under extreme pressures Invasive threats Human population growth and demands Land converted out of forestry Climate change, biofuels, illegal logging, global trade pressure... Bottom Line: Unsustainable demands on current forests

5 When Used Responsibly Forest Biotechnology Might: Protect species: a mechanism to bring threatened and endangered species back to forest ecosystems Conserve land: growing more wood on less land, rehabilitating degraded soils Fight a changing climate: withstand weather extremes and sequester more carbon to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations Improve biofuels: increase the sustainability and efficiency of producing forest fuels Grow more wood: more than double wood production, improve wood quality Clean up after us: systematically absorb and store toxic substances from the environment for safe disposal.

6 The IFB Established in 2001 as a non-profit Global in scope Neutral approach to technology Board reflects stakeholder groups Funding sources: ~ ½ Non-profit, ¼ Government, ¼ Industry

7 Stakeholder Engagement Assessments of forest biotechnology in Europe, North America, and Latin America Begin discussion on ecological risk assessment

8 IFB Projects Science Heritage Trees Forest Health Initiative* Pine Genome Initiative Dialogue Forest Fuels Stewardship Responsible Use Principles *Project Secretariat

9 Science: Forest Biotechnology and Forest Health CFS LFC Seminar Series November 15, 2012 Susan McCord - susan.mccord@forestbiotech.org

10 Forest Health Initiative A useful model for: Engaging both sides of the tree biotech debate in a positive and productive way Outreach and stakeholder collaboration Working successfully with regulatory agencies Cooperative research agendas Demonstrating social & environmental benefit

11 Forest and Urban Trees under Attack Conifers Ash Elms

12 The American Chestnut: Icon to Oblivion Blight killed 4 BILLION trees Food for animals and people Fast growing, high quality lumber Wildlife habitat

13 Forest Health Initiative Structure Three year project Exploring biotechnology as a tool for forest health Created as a response to multiple threats Funding: Steering Committee U.S. Forest Service U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities Duke Energy Environmental Defense Fund The Nature Conservancy

14 Benefits & Challenges Benefits Identify survival traits Insert survival traits Fast replication Challenges Technical hurdles Environmental impacts Regulatory approval for transgenics Social acceptance

15 Neutral Space to Consider Biotech Engage Broad Group of Stakeholders Give Equal Weight to Open Minded Skeptics Public Benefit Project Braided Approach Diverse Voices on Advisory Panels Convene Series of Forums and Webinars

16 FHI Biotechnology Research Genome sequence Collection & coordination Population genotyping Early screen development Vegetative propagation Transgenics

17 Genomics Chestnut Sequence complete parts list ~35,000 genes Vs Comparisons help identify important genes

18 Germplasm - Coordination Information exchange among centers - to integrate current activities - to foster innovation Germplasm exchange for clonal testing Science Team Centers (Contact PIs) SUNY-ESF at Syracuse (Bill Powell, Chuck Maynard) Pennsylvania State University (John Carlson, Webb Miller) University of Georgia (Scott Merkle, Joe Nairn) USDA-FS SIFG (Dana Nelson)

19 Germplasm Population Genotyping Populations Chromosome segments Genes Determine origins of blight resistance Integration of sequencing data to inform breeding programs

20 Clonal Testing Propagation & Screening Current method One embryo, one tree 5-7 years to screen Clonal method One embryo, many trees Earlier screen

21 Clonal Testing Transgenic Lines Feasibility has been established Agrobacterium Chestnut PEMs Embryos Blight resistance candidate genes in the pipeline Candidate genes from Chinese chestnut are being discovered

22 Established Field Testing Sites of Transgenic Lines 740 transgenic trees and 534 controls Somatic seedlings with FHI CGs for Phytophthora resistance will be ready for screening in 2013

23 Traditional stem assay vs. leaf assay Traditional assays: Leaf assays can be done with 6 or more leaves with results in 3 to 7 days. 4-year-old tree, inoculated with the blight to evaluate resistance level after several months. PA-TACF Savings of ~ 4 years!

24 IFB Led the Regulatory & Policy Effort Phase 1 Start 5 years prior to use 1. Open lines of communication with policy stakeholders 2. Engage a wide spectrum of additional stakeholders Phase 2 Start 3-5 years prior to use 3. Review intellectual property 4. Assemble a biological dossier 5. Review regulatory landscape Chart 2 - Relevant Patent Holders of Constructs Phase 3 Start 3-1 years prior to use 6. Query agencies to define a regulatory course 7. Prepare an environmental report 8. Interact with agencies on future regulations

25 Social & Environmental Committee The Nature Conservancy Society of American Foresters Conservation Fund Environmental Defense Fund The American Chestnut Foundation National Parks Service and others.

26 Forest Health Roadmap

27 Dialogue: Forest Biotechnology and Mobile Applications CFS LFC Seminar Series November 15, 2012 Susan McCord - susan.mccord@forestbiotech.org

28 Smart Phone Application TreeTaggr is a citizen scientist app designed to enable individuals to report information related to tree diseases, parasites, and other environmental stresses.

29 TreeTaggr Development 02/ /2013 Initial Scoping Database* * Work done in Canada API* Detailed Scoping Phone Software ($20,000) TreeTaggr.org Free to any user Open source code Database custom built for geographic analysis Leaderboard encourages use and learning Plan to capture 90% of smartphones with GPS 1. Android 2. iphone 3. Windows phone Website Front-end ($10,000) Completion Funds ~$30K

30 Stewardship: Forest Biotechnology and Certification Systems CFS LFC Seminar Series November 15, 2012 Susan McCord - susan.mccord@forestbiotech.org

31 SFM Systems and Biotech Trees PEFC : Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification International Banned / Precautionary approach based on lack of data FSC : Forest Stewardship Council International Banned / Precautionary approach based on lack of data CerFlor : Certificação Florestal Brazil Banned via PEFC registration / No additional rationale CertFor : Certficación Forestal Chile Banned via PEFC registration / No additional rationale SFI : Sustainable Forestry Initiative N. America Banned via PEFC registration / Awaiting risk-benefit data ATFS : American Tree Farm System USA Banned via PEFC registration / No additional rationale CSA : Canadian Standards Association Canada Banned via PEFC registration / Allows public to determine approach CFCC : China Forest Certification Council China Banned via PEFC registration / No additional rationale

32 Responsible Use Initiative Phase 1, 3 years Global stakeholder input Committee of international experts Transparent process Phase 2, started 2012

33 Biotech Tree Value Chain NOT a certification system Voluntary and easy to use Global in scope Transparency is critical: responsibleuse.org Multistakeholder interaction

34 Principles are Globally Relevant Bridge SFM gaps Principles can be modified by users Individual components can be adopted Addresses some key stakeholder issues: Transparency Governance Stakeholder engagement Communication

35 IFB Resources Join the Forest Biotechnology Partnership: Subscribe to IFB s news feed: Join IFB s Linked-In group: FORESTBIOTECH.ORG Adam Costanza adam.costanza@forestbiotech.org Susan McCord susan.mccord@forestbiotech.org

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