Engaging the Public in Biotechnology: PERSPECTIVES, BEST PRACTICES AND CASE STUDIES from the Global Industry Coalition CARTAGENA PROTOCOL ON BIOSAFETY Outreach/Position Document on Public Awareness and Education
Awareness and education are important prerequisites to all forms of evaluation or consultation by the public. While national governments have a primary responsibility to ensure that the public is appropriately informed about biosafety and biotechnology matters, developers of new technologies also have a special role to play in providing biosafety information to the public about their products. We do so through a wide range of global, regional and national activities. Background: Article 23 of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Protocol) requires Parties to promote and facilitate public awareness and education about biosafety and biotechnology (Appendix 1). During their fifth meeting in 2010, the Parties to the Protocol adopted a programme of work on Article 23 which outlines ways to promote broad public awareness and education of issues concerning the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) and invites all to share their experiences in this area. 1 The Global Industry Coalition (GIC) 2 has surveyed its members to develop the perspectives, best practices and case studies contained in this document (Appendix 2). GIC Perspectives on Public Awareness and Education Whenever new technologies are introduced, people want to know more. How will this technology affect my life? Is it safe? What impact will it have on the environment? How does it work? Awareness and education are important prerequisites to all forms of consultation or evaluation by the public. Parties to the Protocol/national governments have a primary responsibility to ensure that the public is appropriately informed about biosafety and biotechnology matters in which they are asked to participate in by their national governments, in accordance with the country s laws and practices. Providing information to the public about biosafety and biotechnology can be challenging, because they are complex subjects involving many actors. Article 23 and the Protocol s Programme of Work on Public Awareness, Education and Participation Concerning the Safe Transfer, Handling and Use of LMOs (2011-2015) recognises this, and calls on the Parties to cooperate with civil society, industry, academia, communication experts, educational institutions and others on activities in these areas. Developers of new technologies have a special role to play in providing biosafety information to the public about their products. From the time that agricultural biotechnology crops were first grown commercially in 1996, members of the agricultural biotechnology industry have reached out to the public through diverse and innovative programmes to raise awareness, educate and encourage participation. Representing the developers of new technologies, the members of the GIC believe that: Public acceptance of governmental decisions on LMOs is fostered when people have access to information about biotechnology that is transparent, understandable, timely and relevant to their concerns. Public education and awareness activities are best when country-driven rather than imposed through regional or global organisations. Programmes should be designed with specific social and cultural considerations in mind, and targeted to the knowledge and concerns of different stakeholder groups in a particular country. Public sector expert engagement also is important to deliver information to the public about the impacts of new technologies. Technology developers routinely develop public-private partnerships to investigate the benefits and risks of new products and facilitate the dissemination of this important information to the professional and regulatory community through publications, presentations at conferences, meetings with the public and indirectly through the media. Awareness and education initiatives should be focused on increasing knowledge of the scientific aspects of biotechnology, including impacts on farming systems, food production and environmental benefits, and experiences in other world areas. This focus will support informed public participation in science-based biotechnology decisions, especially if focused on technical questions and risk assessments. Building awareness and education in biotechnology is a long-term and evolving process that should follow each country s experience. Activities and programmes should continue, but evolve as a country moves from establishing biosafety policies through evaluating biotechnology products to approval and adoption. 1 http://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/mop-05/mop-05-dec-13-annex-en.pdf 2 The Global Industry Coalition (GIC) for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety receives input and direction from trade associations representing thousands of companies from all over the world. Participants include associations representing and companies engaged in a variety of industrial sectors such as plant science, seeds, agricultural biotechnology, food production, animal agriculture, human and animal health care, and the environment.
Industry Best Practices and Case Studies for Effective Public Awareness and Education Members of the GIC have worked in many of the objective and activity areas that are identified in Element 2 of the Programme of Work on Public Awareness, Education and Participation. 3 The following best practices and examples come from those experiences. 1. Open invitations: Public awareness and education opportunities should be transparent. Behind-the-scenes information about how biotechnology research is conducted, developed, evaluated and monitored is of great interest to the public. The agricultural biotechnology industry literally opens its doors to the public through visitors centers. Community members have opportunities to participate in company decision-making in some places. Scientists from all kinds of institutions have access to published industry research and standards and good stewardship requirements for managing internal research and development activities. 2. The power of first-hand experiences: Information given to the public should be direct and understandable. Biosafety and agricultural biotechnology are highly technical topics. For members of the public who do not have science degrees or farm experience, interacting with researchers and listening to first-hand experiences with biotechnology provide powerful educational opportunities. In many places, the public can visit laboratories and talk with researchers about how the technology is developed. Elsewhere, members of the public can walk through fields to see what biotech crops look like and get answers to their questions from farmers who actually grow the crops. 3. Awareness and education opportunities must be timely in order to have impact. The information needed by the public when biosafety regulations are being discussed is different than the information needed at times when specific products are being considered for approval. Some awareness, education and participation programmes sponsored by industry provide information every day of the year through the internet and published materials. Other programmes may combine many activities into a single week for maximum exposure or operate seasonally when crops are in the ground. 4. Relevance: Specific stakeholders may need customised information. Different people want and need different kinds of information. While some information about biosafety and biotechnology is of interest to the general public, certain stakeholder groups need access to more specialised resources. Industry programmes are customised to reach specific audiences including journalists, teachers and other members of the agriculture and science communities through events, training courses and dialogue sessions that are tailored for them. The GIC believes that these experiences in public awareness and education activities for biosafety and biotechnology should be shared and, with the help of its global network, has developed 14 case studies. These case studies describe past and ongoing initiatives, including major accomplishments, success stories, best practices and lessons learned as GIC members have reached out to general public, as well as specific stakeholder groups of journalists, farmers, industry, government and the public sector, and teachers. The case studies are available online at www.croplife.org/public_participation_case_studies (Appendix 2 for details). 3 http://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/mop-05/mop-05-dec-13-annex-en.pdf
Appendix 1: Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety Article 23: Public Awareness and Participation 1. The Parties shall: (a) Promote and facilitate public awareness, education and participation concerning the safe transfer, handling and use of living modified organisms in relation to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health. In doing so, the Parties shall cooperate, as appropriate, with other States and international bodies; (b) Endeavour to ensure that public awareness and education encompass access to information on living modified organisms identified in accordance with this Protocol that may be imported. 2. The Parties shall, in accordance with their respective laws and regulations, consult the public in the decisionmaking process regarding living modified organisms and shall make the results of such decisions available to the public, while respecting confidential information in accordance with Article 21. 3. Each Party shall endeavour to inform its public about the means of public access to the Biosafety Clearing-House. Appendix 2: Summary of GIC Case Studies 4 To promote public awareness and education about biosafety and biotechnology topics, the members of the Global Industry Coalition (GIC) often complement or build on programmes initiated by national government and others involved in LMOs. Different kinds of programmes are used to reach different stakeholder groups. General public: Virtually all members of the GIC support and engage in activities to educate and inform the general public about biotechnology. This includes producing printed material on relevant topics that may be distributed at public events or regularly sent out by mail or email. In many countries, GIC members sponsor websites that provide information to the general public, and some have specialised sites or pages for certain audiences. Providing updated and accessible information available in local languages is very important. Canada and the Philippines each organise National Biotechnology Week events every year. Activities include career fairs, tours of biotech companies, news features, political speeches and outreach, and other programs to simultaneously reach broad and diverse sections of society on a national basis. Visitors programmes run by biotechnology companies help educate those in their communities and beyond. They offer opportunities for the public to visit facilities where research on agricultural biotechnology is being done, see the technology first-hand and meet the people who are developing it. Ten years ago, the introduction of Bt cotton in India was met with many questions about its biosafety, regulation, and benefits. At the time there was no easy-to-understand overview of the key issues, data, and literature to help resolve them. A prominent scientist wrote Q&A on Bt-Cotton in India to fill this gap, answering dozens of questions on all aspects of Bt technology and the experience with Bt cotton in India. In countries or regions where biotechnology is not widely adopted, opportunities to learn about biotechnology, interact with experts and see crops first-hand can be limited. Multi-stakeholder platform events in Romania are dedicated to educating people about agricultural biotechnology: how it s researched and regulated, the benefits of current products and what s in the pipeline for the future. 4 www.croplife.org/public_participation_case_studies
Journalists: Many GIC-supported awareness and education activities include the news media, because they are a primary source of information for the general public. GIC members create opportunities for journalists to talk to experts about specific stories, and host seminars or conferences where they can become better educated on broader topics. The common practice of rotating journalists from one subject area beat to another means that this is an ongoing task. The news media plays a special role in building public awareness about many issues because it reaches the public every day with information about events around the world. In Brazil and Japan, Council for Biotechnology Information organisations connect members of the news media with interesting stories and independent sources to help them raise public awareness about agricultural biotechnology. The interest of the Chinese media in agricultural biotechnology follows the wide-ranging and growing interests of the public in this topic. Journalists who seek to access experts, locations where biotechnology crops are developed and grown, and up-to-date information now find new support from the science and agriculture community. Farmers: The GIC believes that farmers are one of the most important segments of the public to educate about biotechnology because of the choices and responsibilities they have, and benefits that come directly to them. They can play a strong role in educating others about the real impacts that biotechnology has on the economy and the environmental health of their farms. Through the Pan-Asia Farmers Exchange Program, people from across the region learn about the practicalities of regulating and growing biotech crops. What began as a way to share information among farmers is now informing a much broader group of stakeholders on the impacts and benefits of biotechnology in the Philippines, where these crops have been grown for over six years. Every March, rural communities across South Africa gather around local small-scale farms to learn about biotechnology. There are no multi-media presentations or complex internet sites here. Instead, people come simply to see a field of insect-protected maize next to a conventional field, listen to what the farmer has learned from growing the crop, and judge for themselves how effective biotechnology can be in their own environment. Industry/private sector: The food, feed and fibre industries include vast networks of input providers, growers, machinery manufacturers, processors, millers, traders and retailers. Their acceptance of biotechnology is critically important to the continued adoption of the technology. Members of the GIC follow up carefully to make sure industry colleagues are well-informed about the trade and commercial implications of biosafety and biotechnology issues. In the face of concerns about the market impacts of growing biotech canola in Australia, industry stakeholders engaged in a unique participatory process to systematically review and work through all of the issues being raised. Together they identified practical measures that would ensure the Australian industry could continue to meet the needs of customers and consumers. They then shared this information with other supply chain participants, governments and the public to provide confidence that the industry could manage biotech canola in the supply chain and therefore provide choice to customers across that chain.
Government: The government agencies and authorities that regulate biotechnology are complex organisations in themselves. Regulators, administrators, legislators, the judiciary, and administrative offices at national, regional and local levels may all have to deal with issues related to biotechnology in one way or another. A number of GIC-supported efforts are helping officials in government agencies to stay informed and up-to-date about biosafety and biotechnology issues. As adoption of biotechnology crops grows in a country, so do the economic, agriculture, trade, research, science and legal opportunities and implications. Government officials must keep pace, and in Brazil, an innovative programme has been created to enhance understanding of biotechnology at all levels of the government. Biotechnology companies work diligently to provide up-to-date technical information about their new products to regulatory agencies and the scientists who advise them. In Asia, the CropLife Korea industry organisation hosts in-depth workshops with international experts on important regulatory topics, while its extensive website houses scientific publications, news and other resources. The manual on Compliance Management of Confined Field Trials of Biotech-derived Plants contains best practices and guidelines developed by industry to organise, manage and complete field trials a critically important stage of biotechnology research and development in compliance with regulations. Educational workshops based on the manual have been given around the world to share this information with regulators, researchers and members of the biotech industry who are conducting trials, monitoring research or even drafting new regulations. The training has been especially useful in Africa where agricultural biotech research is blossoming, but is applicable anywhere that better understanding of compliance management is needed. Many companies and research institutes have Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBCs) that help them manage complex decisions about research and development activities involving biotechnology, or genetic engineering. The membership of IBCs usually includes people from outside of the organisation conducting the research in order to provide independent review and assessment of their plans. In Australia, IBCs play a particularly active and participatory role in biotechnology research and development. Teachers: Academics and those in the teaching professions have multiple levels of impact. They are often among the most well-educated members of their communities, making them good partners for educating the public about biotechnology, with support from the GIC. In 2003-04, when the Ministry of Education in Argentina instituted a requirement that biotechnology be taught in schools, most teachers had not been trained in this new area of science and had few resources for planning lessons. A panel of independent experts came together to design a training course and educational materials, which is offered free-of-charge around the country through the Por Qué Biotecnología (Why Biotechnology) program (http://www.porquebiotecnologia.com.ar/). Today, more than 10,000 school teachers have been trained.
Engaging the Public in biotechnology: Africa Biotech Awareness from the Ground Up: Outreach to Small-Scale Farmers and Rural Communities in South Africa Sharing Best Practices in Biotech Stewardship: Field Trial Compliance Training in Africa Americas Teaching Teachers about Biotechnology in Argentina Enhancing Government Understanding of Biotechnology: the Case of Brazil Working with News Media to Build Awareness of Biotechnology: Councils for Biotechnology Information in Brazil and Japan Maple Leaves, Moringa Trees and More: National Biotechnology Weeks in Canada and the Philippines Asia-Pacific Delivering Market Choice through Industry Participation in Australia Working with News Media to Build Awareness of Biotechnology: Councils for Biotechnology Information in Brazil and Japan Maple Leaves, Moringa Trees and More: National Biotechnology Weeks in Canada and the Philippines The Pan-Asia Farmers (and Scientists and Journalists) Exchange: Regional Education on Fertile Ground Public Participation in Biotechnology Decisions: The Role of Institutional Biosafety Committees (Australia) Meeting Diverse and Dynamic Needs of News Media in China Building Biosafety Knowledge in Korea In-person Workshops and Online Platforms Answering Questions on Bt Cotton in India case studies from the global industry coalition Teaching Teachers about Biotechnology in Argentina Engaging the Public in biotechnology: case StudiES from the global industry coalition Summary: In 2003-04, when the Ministry of Education in Argentina instituted a requirement that biotechnology be taught in schools, most teachers had not been trained in this new area of science Enhancing Government Understanding and had few resources for planning lessons. A panel of experts came together to design a training of Biotechnology: the Case of Brazil course and educational materials, which is offered free-of-charge around the country through the Por Qué Biotecnología (Why Biotechnology) programme. Today more than 10,000 school teachers have been trained. summary: As adoption of biotechnology crops grows in a country, so do the economic, agriculture, trade, research, science and legal opportunities and implications. Government officials must keep pace, and in Brazil, an innovative programme has been created to educate all levels of the government about Biotechnology crops have been grown in Argentina colleagues, families, biotechnology. since 1996, and the country was the world s second friends and other largest producer of biotech crops for more than contacts. ArgenBio 10 years. An important factor in public education and saw teachers as awareness-building is the national mandate to teach important partners biotech to schoolchildren. The Por Qué Biotecnología for sharing infor- (Why Biotechnology) programme mation about supports teachers by providing biotechnology to resources, strategies and educational different audiences. tools on all aspects of biotechnology. ArgenBio s work with teachers quickly Engaging the Public in biotechnology: became formalised as case studies from the global industry coalition the Por Qué Biotecnología programme, dedicated to providing resources, strategies Why teachers and educational tools on all aspects of biotechnology to schools, museums and other educational institutions. As in many other countries, teachers are held in special A panel of four experts in biology and biotechnology from regard in Argentina. Education is very important and prestigious public research institutions, plus one highlyteachers are well respected for their role in educating In every country there are some government employees, Recognising the importance of biotechnology to the experienced secondary school teacher with a degree in children. Thanks to the national public education system, particularly regulators, who deal with agricultural country, an ambitious government-wide programme biotechnology was commissioned to develop a training the literacy rate is 97 percent, and many public school biotechnology in their jobs every day and are familiar with was created in 2007 to increase Brazil s competitiveness course for teachers and the initial content for sciencebased education materials that could be adopted and teachers in Argentina teach at more than one school in the science, the products and the policy trends. It can be in this area. The federal government encourages Brazilian Delivering Market Choice through order to reach children in the 23 provinces of the secondmore difficult for staff in other agencies, especially those companies to develop new proprietary biotechnology used in any school, working closely with ArgenBio. largest country in South America. However, educational that might only occasionally Industry work on biotechnologyrelated issues, to learn about and keep current with this exports in all sectors of the economy. Participation products and processes in Australia that could generate income and resources can be scarce, especially on emerging topics The programme was offered to the education authorities such as biotechnology which have only recently been and those in charge of training teachers, first in the capital complex subject. In Brazil, an educational programme summary: In the face of concerns From the about beginning, the market the government impacts believed of growing their biotech added canola to in the Australia, curriculum in teachers colleges. city of Buenos Aires. Word quickly spread, and there was designed especially for government officials helps them industry stakeholders engaged success in a unique would be participatory dependent on process the ability to of systematically officials review and work a great response from teachers around the country. Prior understand agricultural biotechnology and how it impacts Years before a national mandate to teach biotechnology through all of the issues being in raised. all biotech-related Together they ministries identified and institutions practical measures not that would ensure the to the offering of this programme, the internet and media the development of the entire country. came into effect, ArgenBio, the national non-profit Australian canola industry could just continue regulators to meet to understand the needs and of work customers strategically and consumers. They then reports were the only other resources most educators biotechnology association, was working to develop shared this information with other with the supply technology. chain participants, This includes governments the Ministries of and the public to provide had to prepare their lessons. Biotechnology in Brazil educational materials for teachers. Teachers are educated confidence that the industry could Livestock manage and Agriculture, biotech canola Industry in the and supply Foreign chain Trade, and deliver choice. In 2009 Brazil became the second largest grower of people who are also citizens, parents and consumers, and and Science and Technology, as well as Embrapa (the biotechnology crops in the world, with over 21 million they are excellent replicators of information, spreading national agricultural institute), the Brazilian Agency of hectares planted, and is also When a major the exporter federal regulator of in Australia their knowledge not only to their students but also to Industrial approved Development the and the Association of Brazilian agricultural products. Agricultural commercial biotechnology cultivation of herbicide-tolerant Federal Judges. canola in impacts farming, the environment, 2003, biotech rural development, cotton varieties had already been grown in economics and other sectors the in country Brazil. for six years. Yet concern from stakeholders, especially those in the grains industry, prompted several state governments to institute moratoria which effectively banned biotech canola for the next five years. During that period of time, industry stakeholders came together in a transparent process to address each area of concern and document all of the tools available to manage market and trade requirements. All of this was communicated to decision makers and the public and reinforced with coordinated issues management once biotech canola came onto the market in 2008. Europe A Shared Platform for Biotechnology Awareness: Multi-stakeholder Events in Romania Global Using Visitors Programmes to Educate and Raise Awareness about Biotechnology Facing market fears Many canola farmers in Australia were looking forward could potentially impact trade and customers. Marketers to being able to grow herbicide-tolerant canola when it of wheat and barley were concerned that they would lose received approval from the federal Office of the Gene sales from important customers if even small amounts Technology Regulator (OGTR). Field trials had been of biotech canola were to be detected in any Australian conducted across the country for a number of years, and shipments. results indicated that technology could provide benefits These concerns were voiced loudly across all of Australia s similar to those enjoyed by growers in Canada, where biocanola-growing states: New South Wales, Victoria, tech varieties produce over 85 percent of the canola crop. South Australia and Western Australia. Although the However, stakeholders in the grains industry were crop had federal approval for cultivation, the states had more uncertain about the impact that growing biotech the ability to restrict individual biotech crops based on varieties of one crop canola would have on their ability market concerns, and that s what they did with biotech to market non-biotech grains, primarily wheat and barley. canola. Multi-year moratoria went into effect across the Canola is one of the most globally traded commodity country, and some thought that biotech canola might crops and any mixing of biotech with non-biotech grain never be planted. These case studies are available online at www.croplife.org/public_participation_case_studies
The Global Industry Coalition (GIC) for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety receives input and direction from trade associations representing thousands of companies from all over the world. Participants include associations representing, and companies engaged in, a variety of industrial sectors such as plant science, seeds, agricultural biotechnology, food production, animal agriculture, human and animal health care, and the environment. 07/12-18659