Setting

the Record Straight on Tanzanias Biosafety Laws

Tanzania has recently amended the Biosafety Regulations, the law which applies to the import,
export, deliberate release, confined use, contained use, transit and placing on the market of
GMOs and their products. The amendment was driven by persistent pressure from the Tanzanian
research community supported by the biotechnology industry. In response to the announcement
Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity (TABIO) has thoroughly examined the amendments, taken legal
advice, and consulted with the regulatory authority (VPO Div of Environment). This is what we
found:
Strict liability is still in force in Tanzania
Despite the triumphalist rhetoric of the GMO lobby, Tanzania has NOT removed strict liability from
its Biosafety Regulations. In fact, strict liability is alive and well and continues to provide a strong
legal framework protecting the nation against any harm, injury or loss caused by GMOs. This strict
liability applies to all GMO activity including importation, transport, release, and of course
commercial sale, in fact everything apart from research.
What has changed is that a few additional clauses have been added
to allow researchers to carry out GMO research, free of strict
liability. However the researchers are still liable for any damage
they may cause, but under a reduced fault-based liability.

Two types of liability:

Strict liability means that

whoever introduces a
What this means is that now we can expect to see more GMO is directly legally
applications for GMO research submitted to the regulatory responsible for any
authority, for example to carry out confined field trials of GM maize, damage, injury or loss
cassava and cotton. We recognize that field trials will bring new caused by the GMO.
risks, for example gene flow to non-GMO crops and the possibility
Fault based liability
of unintended release of GM products into the local market and means that whoever
food supply. As such it is critically important that the research introduces the GMO
activities, particularly confined field trials, are closely monitored would be responsible
only if it was proved that
and rigorously regulated to ensure the nations biosafety.
they were at fault or
It is also imperative that the biosafety regulatory authority fulfills its negligent in carrying out
obligations to make every GMO application available to the public their activity.
upon receipt, and allows sufficient time for comments, and
considers such comments, before making a decision.

What the new biosafety regulations say:

The law still states in article 6.-(1) All approvals for introduction of GMO or their products shall be
subject to a condition that the applicant is strictly liable for any damage caused to any person or
entity.
Also it states in article 56.-(1) Any person or his agent who imports, transits, makes contained or
confined use of, releases, carries out any activity in relation to GMOs or products thereof or places
on the market a GMO shall be strictly liable for any harm, injury or loss caused directly or
indirectly by such GMOs or their products or any activity in relation to GMOs.
The new additional clauses read as follows:
6.-(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-regulation (1), strict liability shall not apply to
researchers and research activities.
56.-(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-regulation (1), any person or his agent who develops,
imports, transports GMOs or products thereof, or carries out any activity for the purpose of
undertaking research shall be liable for any harm, injury or loss caused directly or indirectly by
such GMOs or their products or any activity in relation to GMOs.
Definitions:
The amended regulations also clarify what is meant by the words research, researcher,
confined use, and contained use - as follows:
Research means a contained or confined use, and the words research activities shall have a
corresponding meaning;
Researcher means a person who undertakes a contained use or confined use;
Confined use means any operation undertaken by restricting a GMO and its traits to a specific
and defined area of the environment that effectively limit escape or persistence of the GMO or its
genetic material in the environment;
Contained use means any operation undertaken within a facility, installation or other physical
structure, which involves GMOs that are controlled by specific measures that effectively limit their
contact with, and their impact on the external environment.
Thus it is clear that any experimental releases other than confined use or contained use are still
subject to strict liability.

Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity is an alliance of civil society and private sector organizations
concerned with the conservation of agricultural biodiversity for livelihood security and food
sovereignty.
TABIO contends that GMOs pose unnecessary risks to human health, destroy biodiversity, lead to
increased costs for farmers, increase corporate control of the food chain, and fail to combat global
hunger.
Email: tabiosecretariat@gmail.com Tel: +255 784 311 179 , +255 774 121 589