The Log | School News
Nicholas Environmental Leadership Forum Spotlighted the
Promise and Peril of Transgenic Forests
The promise and peril of transgenic pine forests was the
central topic of “Landscapes, Genomics & Transgenic Conifer
Forests: A Nicholas Environmental Leadership Forum,” hosted
in November by the Nicholas School.
Forests of fast-growing, disease-resistant genetically modified
trees may hold the key to meeting the world’s future demands
for wood, pulp and paper, said event organizer Claire Williams,
visiting professor of environmental sciences and policy at
the Nicholas School. They also could reduce the need to harvest
wood from old growth or natural stands.
On the other hand, they may result in environmental chaos,
promoting the spread of invasive genetically modified species
into the world's forest ecosystems, Williams said.
“Our goal at the forum was to identify major policy issues
and identify gaps in the research framework, so we know what
questions need to be answered next,” she said.
More than 70 policy specialists, research administrators,
academicians, government agency representatives and leaders
of the nonprofit sector attended the science-based dialogue
held at the Washington Duke Hotel on Duke’s campus.
Speakers addressed broad biological, societal and political
issues related to genetically modified conifers. They also
discussed how the growing wealth of genomic data now available
on conifers could be put to broader use.
Speakers included many leading researchers and policy experts
in genomics, policy and ecology, such as Jeffrey Boore of
the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute, who
gave a talk titled “Will Your Favorite Genome be Sequenced?”
Other speakers included:
- Ann Bartuska, deputy chief of the USDA Forest Service
- Joseph Jen, U.S. Undersecretary of Agriculture
- Jesse H. Ausubel, Rockefeller University’s Program for
the Human Environment
- David Richardson, University of Capetown
- Joerg Bohlmann of the University of British Columbia
- Maurice Lex of the European Union’s Commission on Biosafety
Forum sessions focused on four related themes: emerging genomics
innovations, gene discovery and transgenic commercialization;
ecological interface with biotechnology products; perspectives
of private and public land ownership; and pending regulatory
changes.
see the forum's Web site >
more log > |
