| The workshop is part
of the series of workshop being sponsored by FAO-RAP Project
on “Capacity Building in Biosafety of GM Crops in Asia”
(GCP/RAS/185/JPN) for its project participating countries.
It was conducted by the Crop Protection and Plant Quarantine
Services Division of the Department of Agriculture at the
Equatorial Hotel in Melaka from 28-30 of September 2004. A
total of 45 participants (including resource persons) from
various crop research agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture
attended the workshop.
Biotechnology has been earmarked in Malaysia as one of the
areas for advancement in the 8th Malaysian National Plan (2001-2005).
To accelerate Biotechnology development, the Ministry of Science
Technology and the Environment (MOSTE) set up the National
Biotechnology Directorate (BIOTEK) in 1995. BIOTEK established
seven Biotechnology Cooperating Centers (BCC) to coordinate
biotechnology researches on plants, animals, food, molecular
biology, medical, environment/industry and biopharmacy. Research
on transgenic plants is still in the experimental phase under
confined use.
Malaysia is a party to CBD, CPB, TRIPS and ITPGR. MOSTE as
the focal point, coordinating matters related to biodiversity
and biosafety, established the Genetic Advisory Committee
(GMAC) in 1996 to ensure safety in use, handling and transfer
of GMOs and advise the government on matters related to genetic
modification technology and its application. GMAC formulated
the “National Guidelines on the Release of GMOs into
the environment” in 1997, which provided a framework
addressing Biosafety issues like regulation, assessment and
management or risks associated with the release of GMOs into
the environment. The Guideline requires all research government
institutions to establish Institutional Biosafety Committee
(IBC). With the Guideline lacking legal mandate to impose
penalties to parties not following the rules a Biosafety Bill
was drafted by GMAC and was tabled in the Parliament for 2004
passing. Although the draft bill contained policies and regulation
as labeling, export and contained use of GMOs public perception
on the safety of modern biotechnology is still low with the
climate of ‘fear’ still prevailing. Thus, the
need for an effective risk communication in order to give
the people an objective outlook as to the effect of GMOs to
human health and environment.
The workshop was conducted with the general objective of
providing the participants with a basic understanding of the
concepts, principles and processes of effective risk communication.
Specifically, the national training workshop is expected to
provide the participants with
1) an understanding of the concepts, principles and , process
of effective risk communication;
2) key communication skills for building, maintaining, and
repairing strategic stakeholder relationships; and
3) hands-on practice in strategic risk communication planning,
including identification of appropriate tools for effective
communication with stakeholders.
To achieve the above objectives the following lecture topics
were presented: How Safe is GM Crops? from the Industry Point
of View presented by Ms. Lim Lin; How Safe are GM Crops from
the Consumer Point of View by Ms. Megaswari Sangaralingam;
Approaches for Communicating GMO Concerns (Emphasis on Risk
Communication) by Dr. Ma. Theresa H. Velasco; the Process
Framework for Communicating GMO Concerns by Dr. Ma. Theresa
H. Velasco. The workshop which was conducted by Dr. Velasco
was consisted of three sessions: Strategic Design; Message
Development and Appropriate Tools for Risk Communication;
and, Action Plan for Public Awareness and Risk Communication
on GMO in Malaysia. |
