adoption of modern biotechnology should not accelerate this deterioration. It should instead be used in a way that reduces poverty and its deleterious effects on the environment.

We recommend that: (i) coordinated efforts be undertaken to investigate the potential environmental effects, both positive and negative, of transgenic plant technologies in their specific applications; (ii) all environmental effects should be assessed against the background of effects from conventional agricultural practices currently in use in places for which the transgenic crop has been developed or grown; and (iii) in situ and ex situ conservation of genetic resources for agriculture should be promoted that will guarantee the widespread availability of both conventional and transgenic varieties as germplasm for future plant breeding.