GMO-free europe

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National:
Regions:
Municipalities: At least 23 community councils passed a declaration against growing GMOs

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Slovenia: GM-free community councils: For updates check Geopedia.The campaign "Without GMOs!" was launched by ISD on Earth Day, 22 April 2007 to establish GMO-free areas all over Slovenia. The aim of the campaign is to stimulate a thorough public discussion on GMOs in agriculture and food, to raise public awareness and to influence politicians and government to take a stand on use and cultivation of GM plants.

ISD prepared a tool kit consisting of a sample GMO-free declaration plus information material, which was send to all municipalities.
Domzale was the first community to declare itself GM-free on 23 May 2007.
During the first 3 months of the campaign already 23 community councils (more then 10% of all Slovenian communities) passed the declaration. Another 20 communities put it on the agenda for the next meetings, so the number is likely to raise further during summer 2007.

According to ISD "the response from communities is very good and shows a wide response on the initiative among Slovenian citizens and communities, and many individuals and different NGOs actively joined the campaign. The success was noticed by the US Embassy in Slovenia which has reacted by sending around a huge number of copies of a folder on benefits of plant biotechnology in agriculture and for Slovenian farmers and consumers, with a Disneyland-style illustration."

Slovenia has also prepared a draft law on coexistence, which is expected to be discussed in parliament in autumn. European Commission has, in its opinion following the 1st notification, expressed the opinion that Slovenian approach is rather strict.

Bio Alpe AdriaAlready in 2001, activities started towards a GMO-free Slovenia, and the declaration on »Ecoregion Alpe Adria« was signed in 2003 by the presidents of organic farmers' associations of Slovenia, the Austrian provinces of Carinthia and Styria and the Italian provinces of Friuli-Venezia Giulia and Veneto, expressing their intention to work towards an organic and trans-boundary GMO-free region. Unfortunately nothing much happened after that, until in 2006 the Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD) has intensified its work on GM issues.

Contact

Institute for Sustainable Development
Ljubljana
phone: +386-1-4397460
fax: +386-1-4397465
mobile: +386.41.725.991
email: info@itr.si
website: www.itr.si