Opposition to definition of GMO projects as having severe impacts on communities

BANGKOK, April 11 (TNA) - Academics and representatives of associations concerning agriculture and biological technology have asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment not to define projects concerning genetically modified organisms (GMO) as having severe impacts on communities. The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning earlier hired SPS Global Consulting Co to review the categories of projects which may have severe impacts on communities, an action being in line with the second paragraph of Section 67 of the Thai Constitution which requires GMO projects to undergo environmental and health impact assessment by independent committees and public hearings before implementations. As a total of 365 academics have signed their names to back the request, Associated Professor Dr. Prasartporn Samitaman of Chiang Mai University said that the academics have doubted the knowledge and experiences of SPS Global Consulting Co, which proposed to define GMO projects as having severe impacts on communities, as the company had no explanations on the question. Associated Professor Dr. Jessada Denduangboripan of Bangkok-based Chulalongkorn University, acknowledged that the academics want to meet the Natural Resources and Environment Minister to convince him of the safety of GMOs, insisting that GMOs had been tested locally and overseas and proved not to harm public health and the environment. Besides, Associated Professor Dr. Jessada pointed out that Thai people have imported and consumed genetically modified plants although the government has prohibited their cultivation in experimental plantations due to strong opposition, and that the opposition killed chances of trade and academic knowledge. Anant Dalodom, President of the Horticultural Science Society of Thailand, said that Thailand had tried the cultivation of genetically modified plants but the process to develop academic knowledge and biological technology in the field had been stalled for over two decades because of the opposition, and that the cultivation of genetically modified plants in experimental plantations was blocked because it required approval from the director-general of the Department of Agriculture and the Thai Cabinet and needs have to be governed by the biological safety law which has not yet been issued. Anant also indicated that genetically modified products from Vietnam would certainly enter Thailand when the country opens its market after the formation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) by 2015. (TNA)