In the South Brazil city of Curitiba the biggest UN environment meeting since ?Rio ? 10 Years after? from Johannisburg four years ago started today, March 13th. Well over 5.000 delegates from more than 150 States came together. They are joint by lobbyists from industry and environmental organisations, international observers, media and experts. For three weeks questions of rules on genetic engineering and biodiversity will be vividly discussed. Even more numerous then the offical accredited participants will be the attendance of the protesters. They do not agree with the commercialisation of GMOs and of genetic resources. For the Action Camp of the international peasant movement La Via Campesina 6000 participants are expected to come. Other active organisations of the Civil Society have organised a Forum as side event. Actions and demonstrations will take place in different parts of Curitiba.
The official Conference is split into two distinct parts: MOP 3 of the Cartagena Protocol and COP 8 of the Convention on Biodiversity. The Third Conference of the Catagena Protocol wants to operationalise standards of safety for the international trade with genetically modified organism further. This protocol is the only international agreement for legally binding rules on the transboundary transfer of GMOs for food and agriculture.
During the opening session of the Congress, the clear language of Paraná?s Gouverneur, the hosting Federal State of Brazil to the Conference, Roberto Requi?o, came as a surprise. Renowned for his critical stand on GMOs, he directly adressed the most contentious issues of the negotiations and took a clear position on the question, if and how food or feed produced from GMOs should be documented in international trade. He expressed his deep discontent on Brazil?s Federal Government?s view, which opts for the non-labelling solution of ?may contain?.
Requi?o plea was vigorously for the option that when there are GMOs origins in commodities traded, it has to be clearly identified by stating ?contains GMOs?. He denounced the pressure he faced by international companies, especially Monsanto, to change his position. To restrict documention to the ?may contain? option would be like you find meat in the supermarket, which is labelled ?may contain rooten meat?, was his ostensive comparision. Requi?o concluded with the summons, heavily applauded by the NGO community, ?that resiliance is necessary for the protection of biodiversity, the people and the nature of this earth?.
This position with all its consequences is not even backed by the Federal Minister of Environment. She herself is not in accord with a basic pro-GM position of some other powerful members of Brazil President Lula?s cabinet. Marina Silva did not attend the Opening Session of the Conference. By many observers this is seen as a signal that the controversy within the Brazilian Government over its stand on the most contintious topic of this Conference has not yet been resolved. Reputedly Marina Silva still abide in Brasilia in order to have consultations with the office of the President. Her antagonists are to be found in the Ministry of Agriculture, of Trade and of Research/Technology. Their position overlap with the interests of agribusiness.
Starting from March 20th onward, the Conference of Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will struggle to find operational solutions to worldwide rules on how to conserve and utilise genetic biological ressouces in a sustainable way. Similar to MOP 3, it is expected that the negotiations in COP 8 will also become lingering. Especially delegates of agricultural exporting countries and representatives of agrobusiness will put a lot of pressure on the Conference not to come to conclusions, which might restrict free exchange of genetic resources, research or lead to a generous sharing of the expected profits from royalties on patents. The resistance against this barrier for an agreement cannot be overlooked any more in Curitiba.
Key to the mobilisation will be the ?Global Forum of the Civil Society?. In a big tent on the conference ground this Forum will be present throughout the official Conference. The Brazilian umbrella of the environmental organisations, FBOMS, the Campaign for a GMO Free Brazil and other Action Groups are inviting to discussions and workshops under the slogan: ?Welcome to the Real World?. The topics of the events are divers, like how to organise GM-free zones, food souvereignty, resistance of the indigeneous, consumers? protection.
About 20 km away from the Conference venue in the barrio of Quatro Barras, La Via Campesina and the movement of the Landless of Brazil, MST, have organised their protest camp. Here also the issues of agriculture, liberalisation and biotechnology will play the central role. ?We want to make clear that the topics as discussed in Curitiba do not serve the interests of the people, but only those of the multinational companies?, according to MST-spokesman Diorlei dos Sontos, as expressed via the press agency Carta Maior.
Beyond those two key locations for NGO events, observers expect a multitude of actions in the city and outside the doors of the Conference building. Last week similar mobilisation took already place in the neighboring city of Porto Allegre. Under the auspices of the UN, another international Conference took place on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development. Activists from radical peasant organisations occupied in a spectacular action land and destroyed a research laboratory for Eucalyptus, the tree which according to the demonstrators create monoculture and destroys the soil.
Andreas Behn
Translated: Rudi Buntzel
Curitiba, March 13th, 2006