Biotechnology and Sustainable Development

Voices of the South and North

Ismael Serageldin and Gabrielle J. Persley

Hardback

August 2003

9780851996752

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$242.00

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This book had its genesis in Alexandria, Egypt in March 2002, at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, when the new library hosted a conference on Biotechnology and Sustainable Development: Voices of the South and North. Here, a group of modern scholars met to review the state of the art in relation to the applications of biosciences in human health, food and agriculture and the environment, and address the ethical, institutional, regulatory and socio-economic issues that affect their use. The goal was to identify ways and means by which the new life sciences could be mobilized in the service of humanity and especially to improve the livelihoods of poor people.

"The book is highly recommended reading for scientists and interested laymen alike."
- Experimental Agriculture

Part I: Overview
* Alexandria renaissance: The new life sciences and society

Part II: The New Life Science and Sustainable Development
* Science and the poor
* Biotechnology and the war on poverty
* Biotechnology and its application in agriculture and food production: The Egyptian experience
* Biotechnology: The next wave of innovation technologies for sustainable development
* Sustainable food security: Role of the private sector
* Where the biotechnology industry is heading

Part III: The New Life Sciences for Food and Agriculture
* From molecular genetics to plants for the future
* New biotechnology applications in fish
* Biotechnology and smallholder agriculture in sub-saharan Africa
* Biocontrol of potato bacterial wilt in Kenya
* Arid lands experience: Crop improvement in dry areas
* Intellectual property rights: Biotechnology and the gene revolutionUSA

Part IV: The New Life Sciences for Human Health
* Post-genomic health advances and its implications in developing countries
* Novel approaches for vaccine development against trypanosomiasis in Africa
* Developing and marketing of a salmonella-specific DNA diagnostic kit in Southern Africa
* Globalization and access to biotechnology-derived health care products: A view from Egypt
* Prevention of human infectious diseases in developing countries
* International organizations and human health
* Biotechnology: Perspectives of civil society

Part V: The New Life Science for the Conservation of Natural Resources
* Biotechnology: Driven by profit or searching for a better environment?
* Adding value to Brazilian biodiversity through biotechnology

Part VI: The Safe Use of New Biotechnologies
* Scientific basis of biosafety risk assessments
* Emerging regulatory regimes in South Africa
* International harmonization in biosafety: The OECD experience

Part VII: Public Perceptions
* Regulating agricultural biotechnology: A consumer perspective
* Public concerns about biotechnology
* Perception and acceptance of biotechnology in some developing countries

Part VIII: Toward New Partnerships
* New partnerships to raise universal consciousness in the life sciences

Ismael Serageldin

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Gabrielle J. Persley

Gabrielle J. Persley has worked both as a researcher and as a senior strategic science leader, with some of the world's leading agricultural and development agencies, including several years as the World Bank's Biotechnology Advisor. Currently she is the Research Director of the Crawford Fund Australia, based at the Global Change Institute, University of Queensland. Professor Persley is also the Founder and Chair of the Doyle Foundation, Scotland, which advocates the role of science and technology in development, especially in Africa. She is a senior advisor to the International Livestock Research Institute and the Biosciences eastern and central Africa (BecA) in Kenya. Professor Persley has a PhD in Microbiology from the University of Queensland, based on her research on bacterial diseases of cassava in Africa. The University of Queensland awarded Professor Persley the Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in 2014 for her work in international science and technology in relation to food security.