9 November 1999

 Green Group Warns on GM Tree Development

 BRUSSELS (Reuters) - An international environmental group said on
 Tuesday a growing number of genetically modified (GM) trees were
 being cultivated without reliable safeguards and called for a global
 moratorium on their commercial release.

 The World Wide Fund for Nature said in a study that commercial GM
 tree production could begin in the next two years, probably in Chile,
 China and Indonesia, despite what it said were inadequate regulations
 and insufficient research into the environmental impact of trees
 modified by biotechnology.

 ``WWF is calling on governments worldwide to declare a global
 moratorium on the commercial release of GM trees until enough
 research has been conducted and proper safeguards have been put in
 place,'' Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, head of WWF's Forests for Life Program,
 said in a statement.

 ``It is far too early to judge whether biotechnology can make a safe
 and effective contribution to the forest sector.''

 WWF said there could be a risk of genetic pollution, the development of
 ``superweeds'' and unwanted effects on non-target species from trees
 engineered to be resistant to pests and agricultural chemicals.

 The group said that in the last 11 years, there had been 116 confirmed
 GM tree trials in 17 countries using 24 different tree species, of
 which three quarters were timber-producing. Most tests are in North America.
 France leads the way in Europe.

 The WWF report -- ``GM technology in the forest sector'' -- coincides
 with growing public concern, particularly in Europe, about the safety
 of GM foods.

 Lawmakers and the biotechnology industry are seeking ways to make
 the technology more acceptable.

 WWF accused life science companies of pushing the technology in
 regions where regulations governing trials were less strict than in the
 developed world.

 Trees can be genetically engineered to increase growth rates, modify
 wood structure, alter reproductive cycles, improve tolerance to
 herbicides and perhaps even store more of the gases that are responsible for
 climate change, the report said.