TITLE:
For a Holistic View of Biotechnology in West and Central Africa: What Can Integrated Development Approaches Contribute?
AUTHORS:
Francis Rosillon
KEYWORDS:
Biotechnology; Africa; Development; Integration; Holistic Approach
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Environmental Protection,
Vol.4 No.9,
September
11,
2013
ABSTRACT: Africa, ever on the lookout for
development levers that will allow its economy to take off, is turning more and
more towards technology. This is one of the possible modern avenues to success,
especially the use of the biotechnologies that are so touted by Western
countries. However, the hope placed in these new technologies must not hide the
long-proven fact that
technology alone is not enough to solve development problems. Biotechnologies
do not escape this rule. Biotechnologies can be the best and the worst things
for the people of Africa. Beyond their technical contributions, we must be wary
of their boomerang effects and collateral damage. A country’s development is
actually more complex than simply implementing technology, and in the current
global environmental context a holistic vision is necessary to ensure
sustainable development. In the area of water, this integrated vision emerged
on the international scene during the Dublin Conference in 1992, which
consecrated the principles of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). More
recently, the Eco-Health concept strives to combine human health and ecosystem
health while incorporating a socioeconomic dimension into the health and
environmental spheres. The concern to mesh human activities better with
environmental protection was materialized previously, in the 1970s already,
through impact studies. After presenting this set of tools in the service of a
holistic approach to the environment and development, we shall see that these approaches
can inspire the players when it comes to the ways they implement
biotechnologies. At the end of the day, a holistic approach to biotechnologies
in Africa will be facilitated by enhanced information and communication and reliance
on peasant farmers’ expertise. It will have to be rooted in broader
participation of the players concerned. This integration will also concern
environmental and land-owning aspects, without forgetting socio-cultural
acceptance of the projects and the links with health. Ultimately, it will also
mean putting the human at the heart of development by taking all the richness
and particularities of African society into account.