Plant Biotechnology and Plant Biodiversity - Poster Presentation

Poster Presentation

"Plant Biotechnology and Plant Biodiversity"

Poster Presented at Rizvi College, Bandra, Mumbai on 9th Aug 2010

Presented by

- Nadim N. Dinani

Dept. of Biotechnology

Royal College

&

- Nishant D. Patel

Dept. of Microbiology

Royal College

Biotechnology has been providing options for better ways to improve and restore Biodiversity, at the same time not to compromise with the demands of the human population. A briefing of this concept has been exhibited in the form of a poster. 

There is a pervasive urban myth that modern biotechnology, particularly the genetically modified (GM) crops are antithetical to the conservation of biodiversity.This urban myth is being bandied out by numerous anti-GM activists around the world. Most of them are ignorant of what constitutes biodiversity, and the differences between natural biodiversity and agricultural biodiversity. Instead of getting romantic, sentimental, and politicize biodiversity, it is time to ask some dispassionate scientific questions in this contentious biotechnology and biodiversity debate: How useful is this biodiversity? What are the best ways of biodiversity conservation? Should all of it always be preserved in natural habitats or is it better preserved using modern biotechnology?

There is not a shred of credible scientific evidence to suggest modern day crops including GM crops are a threat to biodiversity either natural or on-farm agricultural biodiversity. Indian campaigners keep repeating that India is a mega-biodiversity country meaning it has a wealth of natural flora and fauna that are invaluable, in what sense nobody knows simply because Indian biodiversity has not been well studied at all. Instead, it would be a worthwhile cause if they NGOs campaign the government for funding biodiversity studies on a scientific basis using the best of modern scientific and technological tools. At least then, we will know how rich India is in its biodiversity and how useful it might be. What happens in agriculture is old varieties are replaced by newly introduced varieties from time to time all throughout the ages. That is called agricultural improvement or development. However, there is an unanimous scientific opinion that it is only human settlements-due to population explosion all over the world-that destroys natural habitats, which in turn has destroyed natural biodiversity.

When the same modern biotechnology presents technological options to prevent gene escape using gene restriction techniques, the activists dubbed them, very cleverly as the "terminator" and "traitor" technologies, and such a wonderful application of gene regulation technology was killed. There is a huge cry against GM crops by the organic lobby buttressed by all and sundry anti-biotech NGOs in India, and elsewhere that there has to be zero tolerance for mixing GM crops with organic crops. This beats all logic. Modern biotechnology including tissue culture, micro-propagation, marker assisted breeding, conventional breeding, transgenic crops, and genomics, are all quite useful for conserving and propagating biodiversity in many unique ways. Modern biotechnology is not a threat to biodiversity. On the contrary, it can be beneficially deployed to defend, conserve and propagate all forms of biodiversity. National Biodiversity Authorities and Biotechnology Regulatory Authorities should not heed to all these unscientific propaganda against biotechnology and GM crops. Instead, defend their policies based on best possible science and empirical evidence.