State and perspectives of genetically modified trees in some western Balkan countries

Abstract

Taking into account the signifi cant role of forest ecosystems in the process of climate change mitigation and the fact that there is, at the same time, increased market demand for wood and paper products, it is clear that innovative forest management practices, should be introduced. These led to the noticeable increase in interest in biotechnology, especially genetic engineering. But, one should be aware that the adoption of genetically modifi ed trees (GMTs) will not depend only on the soundness of the technology and science, but also on how such organisms are perceived by the public. In this chapter legal framework related to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and some public attitudes towards adoption of transgenic forest plants in selected Western Balkan countries are briefl y described and analysed. Those countries are Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The method of comparative analysis was applied in order to determine the similarities and differences in the legal framework related to GMOs and also the attitudes of students from different faculties. A survey was conducted with university students, from faculties of forestry, applied ecology and agriculture in 2012. The basic comparison groups were forestry and applied ecology students, while smaller group of agriculture students was used for additional comparisons. The questionnaire covered the following topics: 1) knowledge of genetically modifi ed forest plants; 2) acceptance of transgenic forest plants adoption; 3) perceptions of transgenic forest plants adoption safety. The research results show that legislative framework in selected Western Balkan countries is different and in some countries, it is not in line with the EU legislative. Results of the pilot study show that most students, from all three categories, have knowledge of transgenic forest trees, all surveyed students agree that different genetic modifi cations of forest trees would be important for their country, but there are differences in their attitudes towards the most important benefi t.