Campaign to save the Amazon from Brazil’s genetically modified trees
More than 100 organisations from over 30 countries have demanded that Brazil cancel its planned release of nine genetically engineered (GE) eucalyptus trees and stop threatening global forest biodiversity.
Organisations and Indigenous Peoples from around the world called upon the world leaders at the biodiversity COP16 to demand a strict application of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 2008 de facto moratorium on genetically engineered trees.
GM Freeze Director Dr. Ricarda Steinbrecher at the 16th Convention of Biological Diversity COP speaking at a press conference on saving the Amazon from Brazil’s GM trees.
The trees are designed to withstand the herbicide glyphosate, produce insecticides and grow faster. They “represent a serious threat to biological diversity and ecosystem function as well as to the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities,” according to campaigners. The Amazon region is at risk as well as neighbouring countries, where invasive eucalyptus trees already cause harm.
The open letter states that, furthermore: “Brazil’s legalization of these genetically engineered trees is a dangerous precedent that threatens to open the door to the widespread commercialization and large-scale release of GE eucalyptus and other GE trees, such as GE pine, across Latin America and around the world.”
The genetic modification of trees is of particular concern given their long life cycle, the number of species they interact with and their ability to spread pollen and seeds over long distances. Their lifespan means that it is impossible to fully assess the long terms risks they may pose to forest ecosystems as well as local communities and indigenous people.