Georgina Catacora has recently published an TWN Briefing that provides some insights on the basic questions of what, why, when and how to include socio-economic considerations in GMO decision-making.

The inclusion of socio-economic considerations in biosafety decision-making is a widely debated issue at international, regional and national levels. Despite significant experience and acceptance on the inclusion of social and economic aspects in environmental decisionmaking (Freudenburg 1986; Bareano 2012), the recognition of the eco-social interrelationship and its practical implementation in regulation related to genetically modified organism (GMOs) have been more difficult and contentious (Secretariat of the CBD 2003; MacKenzie et al. 2003). The arguments both in favor and against the inclusion socio-economic considerations in biosafety decision-making are diverse. Points of view in favor acknowledge the relevance of socio-economic considerations in risk assessment and management of GMOs due to their potential impacts on biological diversity that may in turn jeopardize rural livelihoods, indigenous knowledge, market opportunities and even national economies, etc. These concerns have been more forcefully raised by governments and institutions in countries that are centers of origin and genetic diversity (MacKenzie et al. 2003; Khwaja 2002; Secretariat of the CBD 2011; Pavone 2011). In contrast, opinions against consider socio-economic considerations as of limited relevance in GMO regulation. Moreover, it is argued that their inclusion could delay the process of adoption of new technologies and increase the cost of compliance with biosafety policy (Falk-Zepeda and Zambrano 2011; Falk-Zepeda 2009, Secretariat of the CBD 2011; Secretariat of the CBD 2003).

Nevertheless, several countries have been – and are in the process of, including socioeconomic provisions in their national biosafety frameworks, including countries that are not Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Spök 2010; Bareano 2012). The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is the multilateral environmental agreement that sets international rules and procedures for the safe transfer, handling and use of GMOs in order to prevent “adverse effects on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health” (Article 1) (Secretariat of the CBD 2000:3). Based on the current experience related to impacts of GMOs at socio-economic level, and the need for greater conceptual clarity on its utility, the following sections provide some elements on the basic questions of what, why, when and how to include socio-economic considerations in GMO decision-making.

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