Australian Associated Press/Reuters | November 9, 1999
LONDON - Australia is, according to the World Wildlife Fund, one of a number of nations involved in trials of genetically modified (GM) trees in parts of the world where environmental controls are low, as it called for a moratorium on GM forestry trials pending stronger international controls to safeguard the environment, people and wildlife.
WWF was cited as saying that little or no research had been done on the long-term effects of GM forestry even though genetically modified trees risked creating new super-weeds and trees designed for pest resistance and herbicide tolerance could have unintentional impacts on other species.
The story says that Australia is one of 17 countries involved in testing but WWF's major concern is over Australia's involvement in Indonesian forestry, where it believes commercial GM production could already be underway.
WWF director of conservation Francis Sullivan was cited as saying that Australian plant biotechnology company ForBio was part of a joint venture with biotech giant Monsanto and Indonesian company Monfori Nusantra.
Established in 1996, the group has five known trial sites in Sumatra and Kalimantan using teak, acacia mangium and eucalyptus (Tasmanian blue gum) and WWF added it believed commercial production was already under way or due to start in the next two years, stating, "Our main concern in Indonesia is the lack of transparency about what is going on and the bonanza for Western countries including Australia to take advantage of the lack of control. Acacia mangium produces millions of seeds and if herbicide resistant genes are added it makes it almost impossible to control.
"It's a bit like rabbits in Australia - they just take over and cleaning up afterwards is extremely expensive."
The WWF report was cited as saying there had been no scientific research on the long-term environmental effects of GM trees despite the high risk of genetic pollution, adding that "Pine pollen, for example, can travel up to 600 km risking genetic pollution across national boundaries and, in some cases, across continents and as trees generally have a long life span, there are increased risks to the environment than under relatively short agricultural crop cycles. In North America and the EU, the GM tree trials are usually controlled by academic or research institutions and by governments. But in the South of the world in the countries of Latin America, Africa and South East Asia, the projects are being driven by the private sector and there is often little or no regulation."
WWF has called for a halt to the commercial release of genetically modified tree species and stronger regulations for field testing, including a Biosafety Protocol within the international Convention on Biodiversity.
