Involving public sector research in regulations and international negotiations on biotechnology

Abstract: Thousands of research projects in modern biotechnology have been and are carried outin public sector research institutes worldwide to help strengthening sustainable production offood, feed, fiber and fuel. As activities involving biotechnology expand, harmonization ofdomestic regulations with international agreements, such as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,becomes increasingly important. International regulations and agreements define which rolepublic sector research institutes can play in addressing agricultural challenges. For a long time thepublic sector has not been represented during international negotiations, which resulted in theconfirmation of the misperception that biotechnology is only the domain of big handfulmultinational companies. The Public Research and Regulation Initiative (PRRI) was establishedin 2004 with the objective to offer a forum for public sector scientists to be informed about andinvolved in international discussion about biosafety.