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September 5, 2008
A. A. Khan,
SciDev.Net
Pakistan has established a
national-level body to monitor biosafety measures in the areas
of biotechnology and trans-border infectious diseases.
The Pakistan Biological Safety Association (PBSA) was launched
by the Higher Education Commission's National Core Group in Life
Sciences, at a stakeholder meeting earlier last month (6 August)
in Islamabad.
The PBSA includes officials from the country's research and
development establishments and will act as a watchdog to monitor
observance of biosafety standard in laboratory work on microbes,
pathogens and transgenic materials. It will also conduct
awareness campaigns on biosafety issues.
The PBSA will report any violations to the Biosafety Directorate
of the Ministry of Environment. The ministry established a set
of biosafety guidelines in 2005.
The PBSA's first aim is to conduct a vaccine awareness campaign
among farmers on avian influenza as Pakistan has seen cases of
H7 and H9 strains of bird flu in poultry. It also wants to
introduce biosafety as part of the national curriculum at
university level.
"We will work towards safety of the scientists, users and
environment regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
through strict observance of the biosafety rules and guidelines
issued by the Ministry of Environment," Anwar Nasim, patron of
the association and chairman of the National Commission on
Biotechnology told SciDev.Net.
While illegally imported GM cotton seeds are reportedly being
used by farmers in Punjab and Sindh provinces, Bt Cotton and
sugar cane have been developed locally and approved for
commercial use. GM rice, potato and tomato are pending approval
from the National BioSafety Committee.
"A national body including all stakeholders was needed for a
participatory approach of biosafety rules monitoring. We hope
PBSA will actively interact with laboratories on biological risk
assessment and biohazard prevention," Asif Shuja Khan,
director-general of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency
told SciDev.Net.
Praising the creation of the PBSA, project director at the
National Institute for Genomics and Advanced Biotechnology,
Yousaf Zafar, stressed the need to establish a centre to
coordinate information to be incorporated into the international
Biosafety Clearing House.
The Biosafety Clearing House is a mechanism where parties to the
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety — as Pakistan is — share
information on genetically modified organisms. |
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