PREAMBLE

The 21st Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers for Agriculture and Forestry held on 28-29 October 1999 in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei Darussalam endorsed the ASEAN Guidelines on Risk Assessment of Agriculture-Related Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). It was agreed that:

1. The Guidelines would be legally non-binding, and would not take precedence over national legislation.

2. The Guidelines would focus on a science-based risk assessment of agriculture-related GMOs and would provide a common framework for ASEAN Member Countries to undertake risk assessment of agriculture-related GMOs.

3. Issues such as compensation and liability, labeling, socio-economic and religious factors would not be covered under the Guidelines.

1. OBJECTIVES OF GUIDELINES

   1.1 These Guidelines are established to ensure a common ASEAN framework for assessment of risks associated with the transboundary movement of agriculture-related GMOs.

   1.2 These Guidelines provide a common framework for:

   1. assessment of risks of agriculture-related GMOs to human health and the environment; and

   2. scientific basis for decisions relating to the release of agriculture-related GMOs in ASEAN Member Countries.

   1.3 These Guidelines addresses issues related to food safety
   
   

2. SCOPE OF GUIDELINES

   Covers release of agriculture-related organisms genetic material that has been altered in a way that is unlikely to occur naturally by mating or natural recombination.

3. DEFINITIONS

   3.1 For purposes of these Guidelines, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

   • "NASM" refers to the National Authority on Genetic Modification of an ASEAN member country.
   • "Proponent" refers to any person, firm, company, institution or organisation planning to release agriculture-related GMOs into any ASEAN member country.
   • "Release" means the introduction of agriculture-related GMOs for field trials or commercial use in any ASEAN member country.
   • "Risk" is defined as the magnitude and likelihood of adverse effect.
   • "Substantial equivalence" embodies the concept that if a new food or food component is found to be substantially equivalent to an existing food or food component, it can be treated in the same manner with respect to safety (i.e. the food or food component can be concluded to be as safe as the conventional food or food component).

4. THE NATIONAL AUTHORITY ON GENETIC MODIFICATION (NAGM)

   4.1 Each country shall establish its own NAGM which will consist of representatives from national agencies involved in agriculture, trade, economics, environment, health, science and technology and/or any other agencies and sectors the respective NAGMs deem appropriate.

   4.2 The NAGM's roles and responsibilities are to:

   1. review and approve proposals related to the release of agriculture-related GMOs in the respective countries. It may establish more than one sub-committee of experts for specific areas to assess risks involved, as deemed necessary for specific projects.

   2. ensure that national guidelines are complied with by the Proponent in the release of agriculture-related in their respective countries,

   3. provide advice on matters related to release of agriculture-related GMOs,

   4. provide access to the public on information on planned release(s),

   5. ensure guidelines are harmonized with regional and international practices,

   6. establish mechanisms for exchange of information with counterpart NAGMs of ASEAN member countries and other overseas agencies on relevant issues,

   7. update the ASEAN Secretariat on any changes in composition of their respective NAGM members, and

   8. inform ASEAN Secretariat of all approvals in the registration of agriculture-related GMOs in their respective countries.

5. PROCEDURES FOR NOTIFICATION

   5.1 All agriculture-related GMOs brought into any ASEAN member country by the Proponent for release should comply with existing national and international regulations.

   5.2 Before the release of any agriculture-related GMOs in any ASEAN member country, the Proponent is required to submit a proposal to the NAGM within whose territory the release is to take place. The Proponent should consult the respective NAGM of ASEAN member countries to determine the appropriate approval process for the agriculture-related GMOs and the specific information necessary for an assessment. The correspondence addresses of the respective ASEAN NAGMs appears as Appendix 1.

   5.3 The proposal should consist of information specified in Section 8.

6. PROCEDURES FOR SCIENCE BASED RISK ASSESSMENT

   6.1 The NAGM will appoint a panel of scientific experts to evaluate the proposal. The composition of the panel will comprise of members with expertise relevant to the proposed release. The panel of experts will review and assess the level of risk associated with each stage of the release using the questionnaire and risk assessment criteria as attached as Appendices 2 and 3 and submit their recommendations to NAGM preferably within 90 days. The concept of substantial equivalence will be used in the evaluation.

   6.2 No Proponent or any agent representing the Proponent may review his own proposal.

   6.3 The NAGM will decide on the recommendations of the scientific expert panel preferably within 60 days. The NAGM can request further information/clarification from the Proponent should the need arise.

   6.4 The NAGM will decide on the release on a case-by-case basis. The NAGM will either:

   1. grant approval for the release of the agriculture-related GMOs,

   2. grant approval for the release of the agriculture-related GMOs under specified conditions,

   3. prohibit release of the agriculture-related GMOs with reasons for the prohibition given in writing, or

   4. require the Proponent to submit additional information which the NAGM deems necessary to complete the assessment, followed by decision (i), (ii) or (iii).

7. REGISTRATION OF APPROVED AGRICULTURE-RELATED GMOs

   7.1 A register of approved agriculture-related GMOs in ASEAN will be set up and updated by the ASEAN Secretariat. Once the GMOs under consideration have been granted approval for unconfined or commercial release by the NAGM of the ASEAN country where the application was originally filed, the GMOs shall be registered with the ASEAN Secretariat. The ASEAN Secretariat shall inform the NAGMs of all ASEAN countries and make available the basis for approval.

   7.2 The evaluation, approval and registration in ASEAN is summarised in the Flow Chart as appended in Appendix 4.

8. INFORMATION REQUIRED IN PROPOSAL

   8.1 The Proposal should include the address of the institution, organisation or registered company, and name and telephone number of the contact officer who can be contacted for further information.

   8.2 The Proponent is required to disclose the necessary information for risk assessment and safety as specified in Appendix 2. All Core Questions under Section A of Appendix 2 must be answered in detail, with relevant supporting documents included (e.g. data of field trials or laboratory tests). In addition, information on the specific agriculture-related GMOs should be given based on the classification of the GMO under Sections B-K.

   8.3 The broad classifications of information that are required include:

   Section A : Core Questions

   • Species of organisms

   • Eventual use of GMO

   • Location for release

   • Habitat and ecology

   • Genetics of the GMO

   • Data from contained work and other studies

   • Experimental procedures, monitoring and contingency planning

   • Other assessments

   Section B : Plants

   Section C: Microorganisms living in or on animals

   Section D: Microorganisms as live vaccines

   Section E: Microorganisms not falling into Sections C or D

   Section F : Animals (vertebrates, not including fish)

   Section G : Fish and aquatic organisms such as crustaceans

   Section H : Invertebrates

   Section I : Organisms for biological control

   Section J : Organisms for bioremediation

   Section K : Organisms to be consumed as food

   8.4 The Risk Assessment Criteria is appended in Appendix 3.

9. CONFIDENTIALITY AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR)

   9.1 The Proponent shall inform the NAGM of any information in their proposal which the Proponent wishes to keep confidential. The NAGM shall take steps to preserve the confidentiality of such information.

   9.2 It is the responsibility of the Proponent to obtain the necessary patents for the Proponent's agriculture-related GMOs for the protection of the Proponent's intellectual property.

10. RESPONSIBILITY OF PROPONENT

    10.1 The Proponent is responsible for ensuring that NAGM's requirements are complied with in the release of agriculture-related GMOs. The Proponent shall appoint/designate a qualified project supervisor familiar with the requirements and ensure that all persons or agents involved in the release are made aware of and directed to comply with the requirements and recommendations made by the NAGM.

    10.2 The Proponent is required to disclose all relevant information to the NAGM, including all previous approvals or refusals for release in other countries.

    10.3 The Proponent shall proceed with the release only when the proponent has received official approval from the NAGM.

    10.4 The Proponent shall continually collect information and perform post-release monitoring relating to the agriculture-related GMOs and their application(s). The Proponent shall report to the NAGM immediately if new information regarding risks to environment or human health is found. The NAGM reserves the right to recall any agriculture-related GMOs approved for release in its respective country based on its assessment of new information.

11. REVIEW AND UPDATE

    11.1 Due to the rapid changes in technology and the range of agriculture-related GMOs being developed, these Guidelines shall be periodically reviewed and updated as deemed necessary.