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Introduction.- Chapter 1. GMOs, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Processes Part I: GM CROPS AND THEIR IMPACTS.- Chapter 2. Impact of GM crops on farmland biodiversity.- Chapter 3. GM crops: Resistance development and impact on biodiversity.- Chapter 4. Impact of Genetically Modified Crops on the Biodiversity of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi.- Chapter 5. GMOs – Impact on Non-Target Arthropods.- Chapter 6. Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on the Soil Microbiome, Biological Processes and Ecosystem Services.- Chapter 7. Environmental analytical and ecotoxicological aspects of Bt maize in the Pannonian Biogeographical Region of the European Union. Part II: GM INSECTS.- Chapter 8. GM Insect biodiversity and ecological interactions.- Chapter 9. Invasive Species Control and Resolution of Wildlife Damage Conflicts: a Framework for Chemical and Genetically-based Management Methods.- Chapter 10. Risk assessment of transgenic silkworms.- Part III: GM VERTEBRATES.- Chapter 11. Genetically Engineered Fish: potential impacts on aquaculture, biodiversity, and the environment.- Chapter 12. GM Farm Animals: Potential Impact on Biodiversity Including Ethical Concerns.- Chapter 13. GM Animals: Biodiversity and Bioethical Concerns and Analysis.- Part IV: RISK ASSESSMENT.- Chapter 14. Hypothesis-led ecological risk assessment of GM crops to support decision-making about product use.- Chapter 15. Risk assessment of insect-resistant genetically modified crops on non-target arthropods and benefits to associated biodiversity of agro-ecosystems.- Chapter 16. Ecological Risk Assessment for soil invertebrate biodiversity and ecosystem services.- Part V: GENE DRIVE APPROACHES.- Chapter 17. Engineered Gene Drives: Ecological, environmental, and societal concerns.- Chapter 18. Engineered Gene Drives and their Value in the Control of Vector Borne Diseases, Weeds, Pests and Invasive Species.- Chapter 19. Evaluating Gene Drive Approaches for Public Benefit.- Part VI: GOVERNANCE AND REGULATION.- Chapter 20. Governance of Emerging Technologies/Applications in the Bio/Life Sciences: Genome Editing and Synthetic Biology.- Part VII: ANNEX A.- National legal perspectives. Africa. Chapter 21. Botswana - Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and Synthetic biology: Their potential applications and the legal perspectives.- Chapter 22. Democratic Republic of the Congo -  GMOs/synthetic biology rules/regulations and biodiversity: A legal perspective.- Chapter 23. Kenya - A Review of Regulation of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) - Case Study of Kenya. Chapter 24. South Africa - Synthetic Biology Regulatory Considerations and Biodiversity: A Legal Perspective for South Africa.- Chapter 25. Tunisia - The Use of Modern Biotechnology in Tunisia: Regulatory Framework.- Chapter 26. Zimbabwe - The status of Biosafety in Zimbabwe: A legal perspective. Americas.- Chapter 27. Argentina - Regulatory Framework for Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs).- Chapter 28. Colombia - GMOs/innovative biotechnology regulations.- Chapter 29. Ecuador - Modern biotechnology in Ecuador: development and legal framework.- Chapter 30. Honduras - GMOs/synthetic biology rules/regulations and biodiversity: A legal perspective from Honduras.- Chapter 31. Venezuela - GMOs/regulations and biodiversity: A legal perspective in Venezuela.- Asia.- Chapter 32. India - GMOs/Synthetic Biology rules/regulations and biodiversity: A legal perspective from India.- Chapter 33. Malaysia - Genetic modifications and synthetic biology regulations and biodiversity: A legal perspective for Malaysia.- Chapter 34. Pakistan - Synthetic Biology: challenges and opportunities from a biodiversity perspective in Pakistan.- Chapter 35. Thailand - GMOs and synthetic biology regulations: Thailand perspective.- Australasia.- Chapter 36. Australia - Biodiversity Considerations as Part of the Regulation of GMOs, Including Synthetic Organisms.- Chapter 37. New Zealand - GMO Rules and Regulations in New Zealand.- Europe.- Chapter 38. Czech Republic - GMO Regulations and Biodiversity: A Legal Perspective.- Chapter 39. Hungary - Hungary’s GMO-free policy and its legal background.- Chapter 40. Italy - GMOs and synthetic biology rules/regulations and biodiversity: the legal perspective of Italy.- Chapter 41. Norway - The Norwegian Gene Technology Act: Protection of Biodiversity.- Chapter 42. Slovenia - GMOs and synthetic biology regulations and biodiversity: A Slovenian legal perspective.

<div><div><br></div><div>Anurag Chaurasia, a biotechnologist working with Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Government of India, is a pioneer worker on transgenics/GMOs in the country. He has served as faculty 'Molecular biology and biotechnology' at NRC on Plant Biotechnology, IARI, PUSA, New Delhi, and has established the National Bureau on Agriculturally Important Microorganisms (NBAIM) at Mau, Uttar Pradesh. His opinion articles in Nature journal have been accepted by the government in formulating the GM and New Education Policy of the nation. He has been serving on the board of many reputed journals.</div><div><br></div><div>David L Hawksworth is a former President of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS), an Honorary President of the International Mycological Association (IMA), the last Director of the International Mycological Institute, and was subsequently employed as a research professor in the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. Primarily a mycologist, but with wide wide-ranging interests in the environment and the natural world, he was involved in the production of sections of the Global Biodiversity Assessment (UNEP 1995), served on working groups of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE), involved in discussions of the risks posed by GMOs in the late 1990s, and has been Editor-in-Chief of Biodiversity and Conservation since 2006. He has authored, edited or co-edited over 50 books, including Advancing Agricultural Production in Africa and Microbial Diversity and Ecosystem Function, and served as one of the editors of six editions of the International Code of Nomenclature of algae, fungi, and plants. In 1996 he was appointed Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by HM Queen Elizabeth II for services to science. He lives in Surrey with his wife Patricia Wiltshire, a leading forensic scientist, and both are involved in local politics as independent District Councillors. Currently, he is an Honorary Research Associate at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, and a Scientific Associate at the Natural History Museum London.</div><div><br></div><div><p>Manoela Pessoa de Miranda has worked at the Secretariat of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity for eleven years, initially as a risk assessment and risk management specialist and later as the Head of the Biosafety Unit. Among her responsibilities under the Convention, she facilitated a number of technical and intergovernmental science-policy dialogues and negotiations on issues such as synthetic biology and environmental risk assessment of genetically modified organisms. She is has a PhD in molecular biology and a Master degree in agriculture.</p></div></div>

<p></p><p>This book covers a broad spectrum of topics related to GMOs and allied new gene-based technologies, biodiversity, and ecosystem processes, bringing together the contributions of researchers and regulators from around the world. The aim is to offer a clear view of the benefits and effects of genetically modified crops, insects, and other animals on the soil microbiome and ecological processes. Contributors examine issues related to the development of risk assessment procedures and regulations designed to maximize benefits while minimizing risks. </p><p>Beyond the scientific challenges of GMOs, the book explores the broad and contentious terrain of ethical considerations. The contributors discuss such questions as the unintended, possibly unforeseen, consequences of releasing GMOs into ecosystems, and the likelihood that the full effects of GMOs could take years, even decades, of close monitoring to become evident. The importance of developing a precautionary approach is stressed. </p><p> </p><p>The final chapter describes the critical issues of governance and regulation of new and emerging gene-based technologies, as nations grapple with the consequences of adopting the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB). The volume includes an extensive Annex which outlines legal perspectives on the state of GMO governance around the world, with more than 20 examples from nations in Africa, South and Central America, Asia, Australasia, and Europe.</p><p> </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p></p>

Reinforces rational decision-making on development and release into the environment of GMOs through to gene drives Discusses practical and ethical considerations involved in enhancing food security while safeguarding ecological diversity, species survival, and well-being Presents a spectrum of views on the benefits, the risks, and formulation of appropriate regulations