The request goes through the procedure
November 18, 2007
VIB requests a permit for a field trial with genetically modified poplars. These are intended as primary resource for bio-ethanol, a kind of biofuel. In this case, the target is a biofuel of ‘the second generation'(which, unlike the first generation, does not consume or displace food crops).
The wood of these trees has been modified in such a way that the bio-ethanol yield should increase with a maximum of 50 percent. This, however, is an estimate made from lab results. The field trial is necessary to find out whether this can also be obtained in realistic practical circumstances. For the time being, we can merely speculate about the quantity of liters per acre cultivation can provide.
Biofuels cause less greenhouse effect than the fossil fuels they will have to replace. It is, therefore, crystal clear that the field trial involves research that will benefit the environment.
A large world market may open up for sustainable second generation biofuels. An entirely new branch of industry will have to take charge of its production. These new companies will emerge in those regions where the expertise is located. Thus, the field trial is also of great economic importance.
November 30, 2007
The file is declared admissible, which means that the file is judged to be formally complete, and that it enters the term of procedure.
December 6, 2007
Public consultation is started. Every person or organization who, or that, wishes to do so, can now express comments on the request for permission. This can be done directly on the federal government website, or through the municipal services of the city of Ghent.
January 10, 2008
In agreement with the City of Ghent’s Department of the Environment, VIB organizes a neighborhood information evening. The goal is to provide information to people living in the neighborhood of the Zwijnaarde Technology Park, where the trial is set to be carried out, and to offer them the opportunity to ask questions. The evening passes in a positive mood.
January 12, 2008
Public consultation is concluded. In the end, a total of 105 entries are submitted, mainly from Wallonia. The Biosafety Advisory Council offers replies, or refutations, to the comments on risks and safety.
January 21, 2008
The responsible authorities demand extra information from VIB. This did not imply that the request file was incomplete, only that, here and there, the Biosafety Council experts desired in-depth information.
April 14, 2008
VIB submits a revised file, which answers all questions.
April 25, 2008
The Biosafety Advisory Council delivers a positive report. VIB is ordered to perform a number of extra control actions during the field trial.
- Instead of checking once a week if the plants are blooming, this will be done twice a week. The point is not that anyone expects to see any blossoms, since poplars only reach sexual maturity after five years, and the test trees will be cut down after three years. Still, safety first. Blossoms may lead to seeds, which could trigger the emergence of new trees somewhere else in the environment.
- The weed needs to be chopped and processed within the terrain’s fences and the machines cleaned prior their leaving the premises.
May 15, 2008
After thoroughly studying the Biosafety Advisory council’s report and the comments from the public, Flemish Minister for the Environment, Hilde Crevits, equally declares to have no objection against the field trial.
The Biosafety Advisory Council and the Minister for the Environment confirmed the VIB experts’ assessment: the field trial is safe.
The Calvary Continued...
Read here.