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 program 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)1 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
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 Program 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 programs sponsored by industry provide information every day of the year through the internet and published materials. Other programs 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 specialized resources. Industry programs are customized 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).
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 endeavor to inform its public about the means of public access to the Biosafety Clearing-House.
Appendix 2:
Summary of GIC Case Studies4
To promote public awareness and education about biosafety and biotechnology topics, the members of the Global Industry Coalition (GIC) often complement or build on programs initiated by national government and others involved in LMOs. Different kinds of programs 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 specialized sites or pages for certain audiences. Providing updated and accessible information available in local languages is very important.
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.
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.
Industry/private sector: The food, feed and fiber 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.
Government: The government agencies and authorities that regulate biotechnology are complex organizations 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.
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.
Africa
Americas
Asia-Pacific
Europe
Global
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.
Footnotes
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.
3 http://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/mop-05/mop-05-dec-13-annex-en.pdf
4 www.croplife.org/public_participation_case_studies