Victoria's Draft Biodiversity Strategy
06 August 2010In the United Nations' International Year of Biodiversity 2010, Victoria's biodiversity strategy must take into consideration all threats to biodiversity, including the specific threats posed by genetic manipulation (GM) and genetically manipulated organisms (GMOs). The international community and parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have recognised these threats by negotiating the Biosafety Protocol, the first and only treaty negotiated by parties to the CBD. Yet the draft strategy "Biodiversity is Everyone's Business" does not even mention GM or GMOs, let alone the real threats posed by the international transfer, handling and use of GMOs.