Table Of ContentAGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND POLICY
Editors:
Ariel Dinar David Zilberman
Rural Development Department Dept, of Agricultural and
The World Bank Resource Economics
181 8 H Street, NW Univ. of California, Berkeley
Washington, DC 20433 Berkeley, CA 94720
EDITORIAL STATEMENT
There is a growing awareness to the role that natural resources such as water, land, forests and
environmental amenities play in our lives. There are many competing uses for natural resources,
and society is challenged to manage them for improving social well being. Furthermore, there may
be dire consequences to natural resources mismanagement. Renewable resources such as water,
land and the environment are linked, and decisions made with regard to one may affect the others.
Policy and management of natural resources now require interdisciplinary approach including
natural and social sciences to correctly address our society preferences.
This series provides a collection of works containing most recent findings on economics,
management and policy of renewable biological resources such as water, land, crop protection,
sustainable agriculture, technology, and environmental health. It incorporates modem thinking and
techniques of economics and management. Books in this series will incorporate knowledge and
models of natural phenomena with economics and managerial decision frameworks to assess
alternative options for managing natural resources and environment.
While there are significant trends in use of genetic resources in agricultural research and its
application, heated public debate has evolved around the biotechnology, biodiversity, and
biosafety aspects. Acknowledging the potential of biotechnology tools and products for ending
hunger and poverty in the developing world, it is also contended that genetic modification may
poses unacceptable risks for human health and the environment. "Agricultural Biodiversity and
Biotechnology in Economic Development" attempts at addressing such issues in a structured
approach, using economic, legal and institutional frameworks.
The Series Editors
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AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY
IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
by
Joseph Cooper
Leslie Marie Lipper
David Zilberman
Springer
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Agricultural biodiversity and biotechnology in economic development / [edited] by Joseph
Cooper, Leslie Marie Lipper, David Zilberman.
p. cm. - (Natural resource management and policy ; 27)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-10: 0-387-25407-2 (alk. paper)
ISBN 13: 978-0387-25407-4 (HC)
lSBN-10: 0-387-25408-0 (SC)
ISBN-13: 978-0387-25408-0 (SC),
E-ISBN-10: 0-387-25409-9
E-ISBN-13: 978-0387-25409-8
1. Agrobiodiversity. 2. Agricultural biotechnology. 3. Agrobiodiversity-Economic
aspects. 4. Agricultural biotechnology-Economic aspects. I. Cooper, Joseph. 11. Lipper,
Leslie. 111. Zilberman, David, 1947-IV. Series.
O 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.
All rights reserved. This work may not be translated or copied in whole or in part without
the written permission of the publisher (Springer Science+Business Media, Inc., 233 Spring
Street, New York, NY 10013, USA), except for brief excerpts in connection with reviews or
scholarly analysis. Use in connection with any form of information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
know or hereafter developed is forbidden.
The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks and similar terms,
even if the are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to
whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights.
Printed in the United States of America.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 SPIN 1 1395324
Contents
..........................................................................
Foreword.. ix
............................................................. ...
Acknowledgment.. ..xm
PART I: Overview and Key Issues
Introduction
Agricultural Biodiversity and Biotechnology:
Economic Issues and Framework for Analysis
Joseph C. Cooper, Leslie Lipper, and David Zilberman
Major Processes Shaping the Evolution of Agriculture,
Biotechnology, and Biodiversity
David Zilberman and Leslie Lipper
Private Research and Public Goods: Implications of
Biotechnology for Biodiversity
Terri Raney and Prabhu Pingali
PART 11: Genetic Resources and Biodiversity: Economic
Valuation and Conservation
The Economic Value of Genetic Diversity for Crop
Improvement: Theory and Application
R. David Simpson
Managing Crop Biological Diversity on Farms
Melinda Smale
In Situ Conservation: Methods and Costs
Detlef Virchow
Understanding the Factors Driving on-Farm Crop Genetic
Diversity: Empirical Evidence from Mexico
Eric Van Dusen
Costs of Conservation: National and International Roles
Detlef Virchow
Contents
PART 111: Distributional Issues in the Management of 175
Plant Genetic Resources
9 The Sharing of Benefits from the Utilization of Plant 177
Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
Joseph C. Cooper
10 Economic Criteria for the Multilateral Distribution of 197
Agricultural Biodiversity Conservation Funds
Joseph C. Cooper
11 Modeling the Impacts of Bargaining Power in the 215
Multilateral Distribution of Agricultural Biodiversity
Conservation Funds
Frederic Chantreuil and Joseph C. Cooper
PART IV: Biotechnology: Concepts, Values, and 233
Management
12 Agricultural Biotechnology: Concepts, Evolution, and 235
Applications
Maria Jose' de 0. Zimmermann and Enrico Porceddu
13 The Potential of Biotechnology to Promote Agricultural 2.51
Development and Food Security
Hoan T. Le
14 Impact of Biotechnology on Crop Genetic Diversity
Matin Qaim, Cherisa Yarkin, and David Zilberman
15 Establishing Effective Intellectual Property Rights and 309
Reducing Barriers to Entry in Canadian Agricultural
Biotechnology Research
Derek Stovin and Peter W. B. Phillips
Contents vii
16 Adoption of Biotechnology in Developing Countries 329
Holly Ameden, Matin Qaim, and David Zilberman
PART V: Biodiversity, Biotechnology, and Development: 359
Policy Implications
17 Technological Change in Agriculture and Poverty 361
Reduction: The Potential Role of Biotechnology
Alain de Janvry, Gregory Graff, Elisabeth Sadoulet, and David
Zilberman
18 Towards An Intellectual Property Clearinghouse for 387
Agricultural Biotechnology
Gregory Graff and David Zilberman
19 Policies to Promote the Conservation and Sustainable Use 405
of Agricultural Biodiversity
Leslie Upper and David Zilberman
20 International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food 431
and Agriculture and Other International Agreements on
Plant Genetic Resources and Related Biotechnologies
Jose Esquinas-Alcdzar
21 Synthesis Chapter: Managing Plant Genetic Diversity and 457
Agricultural Biotechnology for Development
Leslie Lipper, Joseph Cooper, and David Zilberman
Author Index 478
Subject Index 489
Foreword
The topics addressed in this book are of vital importance to the
survival of humankind. Agricultural biodiversity, encompassing genetic
diversity as well as human knowledge, is the base upon which
agricultural production has been built, and protecting this resource is
critical to ensuring the capacity of current and future generations to adapt
to unforeseen challenges. Agricultural biodiversity underpins the
productivity of all agricultural systems and is particularly important for
poor and food-insecure farmers, who maintain highly diverse production
systems in response to the marginal and risky production conditions they
operate under. Understanding the importance of agricultural biodiversity
in the livelihoods of the food insecure and enhancing its performance
through the use of a variety of tools, including biotechnology, is a
critically important issue in the world today, where over 800 million
people have insufficient food to meet minimum needs. A strong theme
that runs throughout the book is the importance of good public policy
interventions to promote the provision of public goods associated with
agricultural biodiversity conservation and directing biotechnology
development to meet the needs of the poor. The book's primary
innovation is that it describes the relationship between biotechnology
and plant genetic diversity and puts these in the context of agricultural
development. Both the conservation of plant genetic diversity and
agricultural biotechnology have received extensive examination, but the
linkages between the two have not, despite the apparently obvious
relationship between the two. Biotechnologies, which cover a wide
range of techniques and products, represent a valuable new tool for
utilizing genetic resources. If applied with due precaution and risk
analysis, they can increase the value of maintaining genetic diversity by
reducing uncertainty about the characteristics and values of genetic
resources. Biotechnology allows greater precision in the human
manipulation of plant genetic resources, and even transfers of individual
traits between species. However there are several potential risks
associated with this technology and its application in agricultural
development, which form an important part of the analysis presented in
this volume.
One controversy addressed in the book is the potential of
genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to benefit poor agricultural
producers in developing countries. Various aspects of the debate are
x Foreword
covered in this book, many of which were also discussed in the 2004
State of Food and Agriculture Report, which focused on the potential of
biotechnology to meet the needs of the poor. Concerns about the risks
associated with the technology are both technical and socioeconomic.
There is uncertainty about the long-term impact of releasing transgenic
species into existing gene pools and concern that irreversible and
ultimately negative impacts may ensue. This uncertainty gives rise to
the need for biosafety regulations which can be expensive and difficult to
implement, particularly in developing countries with limited regulatory
capacity. Increased privatization and concentration of agricultural
research associated with the development of biotechnologies has also
been raised as a potential problem, with fears of a loss of control of
genetic resources on the part of farmers and developing countries.
Against these concerns is weighed the evidence that transgenics can
provide an effective means of addressing some of the most difficult and
persistent problems in increasing agricultural productivity in developing
countries, as well as a means of significantly reducing other
environmental problems, especially those associated with pesticide use.
Another controversial issue raised in this book is how best to approach
the in situ conservation of plant genetic resources for food and
agriculture. FA0 estimates that about three-quarters of the genetic
diversity found in agricultural crops have been lost over the last century.
Of 6,300 animal breeds, 1,350 are endangered or already extinct (Scherf,
2000).
This rapidly diminishing gene pool is cause for great concern and a
pressing need to design effective conservation strategies. Defining what
should be conserved, its value to various groups in society as well as
future generations, how much conservation is needed, where it should
take place, and the most effective means of attaining it, are all
controversial topics which are being debated today, and which several
chapters in this book shed light on. A key issue raised is the relation-
ship between in situ conservation and agricultural development. At
present, the primary providers of in situ conservation are developing
country farmers located in areas of high native diversity and who, in
many cases, do not have the opportunity to adopt more homogenous
utilization patterns of crop genetic resources because no suitable modern
varieties have been developed to meet their conditions. These producers
are likely to be the least cost sources of in situ conservation at present.
However, is it fair and appropriate to rely upon their lack of access to
improved genetic materials to provide cheap conservation in the future-
at the expense of their own potential for productivity increases and
improvements in their welfare? Developing strategies, which rely on
diversity to achieve productivity and livelihood improvements, is one
way to avoid this dilemma. Possible candidates for such strategies have
been identified in the book; examples include broadening the genetic
base of modern breeding programs, participatory plant breeding, and
using biotechnology to insert important traits into traditional varieties.
