[Pirateninfo] INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DEFEND UNITED NATIONS "TERMINATOR" BAN

[pcl at jpberlin.de]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
From:           	"tony samphier" <tony.samphier at btinternet.com>
To:             	<info at biopiraterie.de>
Subject:        	INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DEFEND UNITED NATIONS "TERMINATOR" 
BAN
Date sent:      	Mon, 10 Oct 2005 07:08:07 +0100


MEDIA RELEASE 
from the Quechua-Aymara Association for Nature and Sustainable 
Development (Peru) and the International Institute for Environment 
and Development 
October 2005
INDIGENOUS PEOPLE DEFEND UNITED NATIONS "TERMINATOR" BAN
LIMA/LONDON: Indigenous farmers in Peru, the birthplace of the 
potato, have slammed a move to overturn a UN moratorium on using 
genetically modified "Terminator" technology in agricultural 
production.
Genetic Use Restriction Technology, commonly known as Terminator, 
means that food plants could be genetically modified so that their 
seeds are rendered sterile, thus preventing farmers from reusing 
harvested seed.
However, according to a new report from indigenous leaders, Peruvian 
farmers and small farmers worldwide "are dependant on seeds obtained 
from the harvest as a principal source of seed to be used in 
subsequent agricultural cycles."
More than 70 indigenous leaders representing 26 Andean and Amazon 
communities have agreed that Terminator represents a dangerous 
technology that could undermine traditional livelihoods and damage 
the environment. Meeting in the mountain village of Choquecancha in 
southern Peru late last month, they produced a report detailing their 
concerns to be presented to UN and government officials. 
A defacto moratorium has existed on Terminator under the UN 
Convention on Biological Diversity, applying the "precautionary 
principle" to potentially dangerous GM technology.
The fear is that Terminator would transfer sterility to and 
effectively kill off other crops and wider plant life, as well as 
increasing the reliance of farmers on big agribusiness which is 
already patenting seeds traditionally owned by indigenous people. 
Industrialised "mono-culture" farming would benefit at the expense of 
tried and tested local agricultural knowledge, threatening 
livelihoods, cultures and biodiversity.
The indigenous leaders warn that, in Peru alone, 2,000 varieties of 
potato could be put at risk by Terminator technology. 
Felipe Gonzalez of the indigenous Pinchimoro community said: 
"Terminator seeds do not have life; they only work once. Like a 
plague they will come infecting our crops and carrying sickness. We 
want to continue using our own seeds and our own customs of seed 
conservation and sharing."
Recently, the Swiss-based company Syngenta won the patent on 
Terminator potatoes, but the UN moratorium blocks the 
commercialisation of the product.
Some governments led by Canada have challenged the UN's safety 
regulation, leading Convention on Biological Diversity officials to 
consult widely on whether the moratorium on Terminator should be 
relaxed.
The issue is expected to come to a head in March 2006, when Brazil 
will host the next international meeting on biodiversity (8th 
Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity, 
COP8). Peruvian indigenous leaders are urging the UN to expose the 
dangers of Terminator technology and uphold the moratorium. They also 
demand that indigenous people have a say in the process equal to the 
influence of the agribusiness lobby.
The indigenous leaders meeting in Choquecancha was co-organised by 
the Association of Communities in the Potato Park in Pisaq near 
Cusco. The recently-established "Potato Park" is a ground-breaking 
initiative that puts indigenous people back in charge of managing 
biological resources.
The meeting was supported by the Quechua-Aymara Association for 
Nature and Sustainable Development (ANDES) based in Cusco and the 
London-based International Institute for Environment and Development 
(IIED).
Dr Michel Pimbert, Director of the Sustainable Agriculture, 
Biodiversity and Livelihoods Programme at IIED, said: "Indigenous 
peoples from Peru are asking the international community to 'stay 
strong' in the face of huge pressure from corporations that now 
promote terminator technology for their private gain and monopoly 
control over the global food system. Decisive and coordinated action 
is needed by world governments to fully apply the precautionary 
principle in biosafety policies and reinforce the United Nations de 
facto moratorium on the release of terminator technology."
Alejandro Argumedo, Associate Director of ANDES, said: "The UN 
moratorium helps to protect millenarian indigenous agricultural 
knowledge and the agrobiodiversity and global food security it 
enables. The rush to exploit Terminator technology for corporate 
profit must not be allowed to sabotage vital international biosafety 
polices."
Ends.
For further information
Tony Samphier on +44 208 671 2911
Liz Carlile on +44 207 388 2117
Alejandro Argumedo on +51 849721852
Notes to editors
Spokespeople are available in Lima and London.
The Quechua-Aymara Association for Nature Conservation and 
Sustainable Development (ANDES) is governed by a general assembly 
which is largely composed of indigenous people from villages in the 
Andes. ANDES has three professional staff in their office in Cusco, 
in southern Peru, while another 15 technicians and university-trained 
professionals and 25 local villagers work in the field with local 
communities.
The International Institute for Environment & Development (IIED) is a 
London-based think tank working for global policy solutions rooted in 
the reality of local people at the frontline of sustainable 
development. www.iied.org

------- End of forwarded message -------