5 November 2010: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published the report of a conference on “Biosecurity in the New Bioeconomy,” which focused on opportunities and risks associated with new crops for biofuel production, including risks to human health, invasion of agricultural and natural landscapes and impacts on pest management for crops on neighboring fields.

The conference convened from 19-21 November 2009, in Canberra, Australia, and was organized by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization (CSIRO) and sponsored by the OECD Co-operative Research Programme on Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems (CRP).

The booklet contains several industry case studies as well as contributions from researchers and policy makers, including policy perspectives from the EU, the US and Australia. Contributions address, among other issues, risk assessment and management of new biofuel crops, application of the precautionary principle, GM pest control to reduce biosecurity risks and impacts of climate change on future pest challenges. The report also summarizes two public forums on weedy biofuels and new pests associated with new crops as well as workshops on policy implications and research and development. The final section contains a conference statement with recommendations to OECD, the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). [OECD Announcement] [The Report]