The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) of the North
America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has this week agreed that it
will study the genetic contamination of maize varieties in the
Mexican state of Oaxaca. This decision followed a request filed in
April by indigenous communities from Oaxaca, along with Greenpeace
and three other non-governmental organisations, under Article 13 of
the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC),
the NAFTA environmental side agreement.
In deciding to undertake the study, the CEC has now publicly
recognised the gravity of the situation in Mexico, where over 300
locally cultivated and wild maize varieties are threatened by
genetic contamination that most likely has originated from US
imported GE maize. The case also creates a precedent, as this is
the first time that an environmental oversight body of an
international trade agreement will address environmental damage
caused by genetically engineered (GE) crops.
"There is great concern around the world about the genetic
contamination of the centre of origin and diversity of maize - one
of our most important food crops. We are happy to see that the
NAFTA Commission for Environmental Cooperation has now acknowledged
the seriousness of the issue. The CEC decision to act on these
concerns should commit all three NAFTA countries into taking the
necessary measures to halt and remediate the contamination," said
Eric Darier of Greenpeace Canada.
"The Mexican Government has known about this contamination for
almost a year and hasn't done anything to stop it from spreading or
solve the problem," said Hector Magallón, Genetic Engineering
Campaigner for Greenpeace Mexico. "We hope NAFTA's decision will
finally make the Mexican officials take the necessary measures to
address the first case of genetic contamination of a centre of
origin of one of the world's most important food crops".
Mexico should require segregation of GE and conventional maize,
and ban the import of GE maize from the United States. Recognition
of the seriousness of this issue should also prompt calls for
identification of the companies responsible for the transgenic
pollution and for compensation by those companies for environmental
and economic damages incurred by local communities.
On April 24th, twenty-two indigenous communities in Oaxaca,
concerned about GE contamination in 15 communities, requested the
CEC to "carry out an assessment of the possible environmental
impacts on maize biodiversity and ecosystems of Oaxacan communities
that might arise from contamination by release of genetically
engineered maize" (1). They were joined on the legal petition by
Greenpeace, the Mexican Center for Environmental Rights, the Group
of Rural Studies and Counselling, and the Union of Mexican
Environmental Groups. Since then, this petition has been endorsed
by 92 non-governmental organisations and academics from Canada, the
United States and Mexico, and supported by over 60 NGOs from
non-NAFTA countries.
VVPR info: For footage of contaminated Mexican maize and US maize being imported into Mexico contact, Martin Atkin, Tel: +31 205249544, Mob: 31 627000057.
Notes: (1) The petition requested the CEC, under Article 13 of the NAAEC, to prepare a report that includes the following six points:* Carry out an assessment of the possible environmental impacts on maize biodiversity and ecosystems of Oaxacan communities that might arise from contamination by release of genetically engineered maize. * Carry out an analysis of the direct and indirect effects of gene flow from engineered maize on the genetic diversity of maize that exists in the affected communities in Oaxaca.* Carry out an assessment of the environmental impacts caused by the transgenic maize on ecosystem biodiversity where the contamination is found.* Determine the sources of contamination of native varieties of maize by genetically engineered varieties.* Analyse the risks of spreading the contamination of native maize varieties by the unintentional release of genetically engineered maize seeds.* Issue recommendations to the Mexican government to address the harm caused to native maize varieties by the release of genetically engineered maize.