Communication presented at the International consultation on the impact of genetic use restriction technologies (GURTs) on indigenous and local communities and on Farmers' Rights. Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Environment Programme, Montreal, Canada, 3 February 2002.
Genetic use restriction technologies (GURTs) represent an unparalleled biotechno
logy with little known, yet potentially tremendous technical, policy and social
impacts on biodiversity, sustainable agricultural development, and farmers' acce
ss to and use of genetic resources. GURTs comprise a range of biotechnologies th
at, when applied to a living organism, restrict the use of specific genetic trai
ts or the whole genome of a variety. In the former case, chemical inducers activ
ate or deactivate genes and hence the expression of particular phenotypic aspect
s. In the latter case, genetic manipulation aims at the sterility of a particul
ar variety or genepool. In essence, GURTs are biotechnologies that restrict (sic
) the use of, and access to genetic resources.
