Sustainable Societies

Biotechnology

Biotechnology, or "biotech", is any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use. This new field of technology operates at the molecular level -- where biology, chemistry, information technology, engineering and other sciences intersect. Major technological changes will be seen in medicine ("Red-biotech") and agriculture ("Green-biotech"), and such groundbreaking science will also provide new biological applications in the industrial ("White-biotech") areas of energy, environmental protection, and product safety.

Sustainability efforts in many areas could benefit from advances in biotechnology. Agricultural benefits like increased crop yield, drought-resistant plants, nutritional enhancement, and reducing dependence on fertilizer and pesticides, will be valuable developments for sustainable agriculture. Medical advancements could also help sustainability efforts by producing life-saving bio-pharmaceuticals or medical treatments that could be produced relatively inexpensively and in large quantities, to address major health challenges. Industrial applications will include examples like the genetic manipulation of algae to produce bio-fuel or the use of designer enzymes to speed chemical production.

The biotechnology revolution is underway. However, serious questions about the risks involved in biotechnology are growing. Important scientific, ethical, and safety concerns warrant extremely careful study. Issues concerning bio-safety center on genetic engineering and the uncertain short and long-term impact that gene transfers may have on the wider environment. Bio-security issues increase as biotechnology know-how spreads and, with it, the dangers of biological weapons.

Biotechnical impacts cannot be confined inside national boundaries and attitudes will differ depending on the local ecological, social and economic situations. Because this economically important industry is driven and dominated by the private sector, information and innovation are largely unobtainable by developing countries that will once again be denied the benefits of technological advancement. These equity and security issues need to be addressed by the international community in order for biotechnology to achieve its full potential benefit for man and nature.