| dc.description.abstract | The agricultural and fisheries industries have traditionally been supportive of technological innovation, particularly in the field of genetic improvement. For decades, these industries have been mixing naturally the genetic traits of seeds and animals in the search of varieties that are able to express a desired trait. Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) is a noteworthy step forward in the production of agricultural crops.
Although this method is more efficient, a number of scientific evidence manifest the fact that "novel gene combination" may have health and environmental impacts that are not being adequately addressed at present. Thus a proper legal framework should be established to ensure that the quality of the imported and domestically produced GMOs are harmless to the human health and bio diversity of Sri Lanka. Despite the significance of this requirement, proposals for precise legislation are still in discussion stages.Hence, the main objective of this research is to evaluate whether the existing legal framework can be effectively utilised to ensure that the biodiversity and human health of Sri Lanka are not negatively affected by the importation and domestic synthesis of GM seeds and other products. The secondary objectives are to analyse the impact of GMOs to various facets of a country, to analyse the steps taken in the international arena to combat the above mentioned issues, to examinethe factors that may be promptingthe delay of the enforcement of the said law and to give recommendations to the domestic legal framework in light of international standards. This research is carried in the form of a library based research and a qualitative research design is adopted. Case laws, statutes, conventions are used as primary sources whereas books, journal articles, conference papers, research papers, internet-web related information, newspaper articles and other legal instruments and resolutions of international/ regional institutions are used as secondary sources. The key findings of this research show that the existing laws can be utilized to a considerable extent in fortification of bio diversity and human health in Sri Lanka. Furthermore, this study seeks to propose several additions in light of the precautionary principle to achieve the ends that cannot be accomplished by utilizing existing domestic laws alone. | en_US |
