Webinar on Environmental Risk Assessment

The Bureau of Plant Industry in collaboration with the Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS), spearheaded an online Webinar on Environmental Risk Asssessment via Zoom platform on September 21, 2020. The objectives of the said webinar include enhancing the capacity and competence of regulators on the environmental risk assessment of traditional GMOs and to spread awareness and information on how environmental risk assessments follow established knowledge. Representatives from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Health (DOH), and Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) participated in the said webinar. International speakers, Dr. Rashmi Nair and Dr. Peter Raymond, were invited to present their expertise and knowledge on environmental risk assessment. Dr. Nair is a toxicologist with expertise in safety assessment and global regulatory paradigms. She is also one of the pioneer specialists in developing safety data and global regulatory requirements for agricultural chemical and biotechnology products. On the other hand, Dr. Raymond is an international consultant in providing technical, strategic, and regulatory support for the discovery, development, and commercialization of emerging technologies in the agricultural biotechnology field. He is also an expert in strategic confined field trial design and implementation, data quality, crop biotech stewardship, and biosafety best practices for contained and confined research with GM materials.

The BPI Assistant Director for Regulatory and the current Chair of BPI Biotech Core Team (BCT), Mr. Andres L. Alemania, started the webinar with his heart-warming welcome remarks. Then followed by the rationale, lead by the OIC-Head of BPI Biotechnology Office and Co-Vice Chair of BPI BCT, Dr. Peter M. Magdaraog. The following topics were discussed during the said webinar: (a) Principles of Environmental Risk Assessment (b) Case Study: Effective Environmental Risk Assessment for Regulators and (c) Emerging Issues on GM Salmon and Gene edited products. Dr. Henry A. Adornado, Director of DENR Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (ERDB), gave the participants his noteworthy closing remarks. The webinar was hosted and facilitated by Ms. Viola Katherine Gamboa and Ms. Tracey Mae Cea, both member of the Biotechnology Office Secretariat.