integrating science, dialogue, and stewardship for forest...
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Integrating Science, Dialogue, and Stewardship for Forest Biotechnology
CFS – LFC Seminar Series November 15, 2012 Susan McCord [email protected]
Everyone Loves Trees!
Trees are Different
Characteristics Food Crops / Croplands Trees / Forests
Lifespan Months years Decades centuries
1 Breeding cycle 1 year or less Multiple years
Pollen spread Dozens of Km Hundreds of Km
Wildlife habitat & refuge Low High
CO2 sequestration potential Low High
H20 Cleansing Low High
Food calorie production High Low
Global acreage 1.6 billion hectares 3.9 billion hectares
Hunting, hiking, camping, exploring
Not often Yes!
Why Biotech Trees?
Forests are under extreme pressures ✓ Invasive threats ✓ Human population growth and demands ✓ Land converted out of forestry ✓ Climate change, biofuels, illegal logging,
global trade pressure...
Bottom Line: Unsustainable demands on current forests
When Used Responsibly Forest Biotechnology Might:
Protect species: a mechanism to bring threatened and endangered species back to forest ecosystems
Conserve land: growing more wood on less land, rehabilitating degraded soils
Fight a changing climate: withstand weather extremes and sequester more carbon to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations
Improve biofuels: increase the sustainability and efficiency of producing forest fuels
Grow more wood: more than double wood production, improve wood quality
Clean up after us: systematically absorb and store toxic substances from the environment for safe disposal.
The IFB
Established in 2001 as a non-profit
Global in scope
Neutral approach to technology
Board reflects stakeholder groups
Funding sources: ~ ½ Non-profit, ¼ Government, ¼ Industry
Stakeholder Engagement
Assessments of forest biotechnology in Europe, North America, and Latin America
Begin discussion on ecological risk assessment
IFB Projects Science
Heritage Trees Forest Health Initiative*
Pine Genome Initiative
Dialogue
Forest Fuels
Stewardship
Responsible Use Principles
*Project Secretariat
Science: Forest Biotechnology and Forest Health
CFS – LFC Seminar Series November 15, 2012 Susan McCord - [email protected]
Forest Health Initiative
A useful model for: Engaging both sides of the tree biotech
debate in a positive and productive way Outreach and stakeholder collaboration Working successfully with regulatory
agencies Cooperative research agendas Demonstrating social & environmental
benefit
Forest and Urban Trees under Attack
Conifers
Ash Elms
The American Chestnut: Icon to Oblivion
Blight killed 4 BILLION trees Food for animals and people Fast growing, high quality
lumber Wildlife habitat
Forest Health Initiative Structure
Three year project Exploring biotechnology as a tool for forest health Created as a response to multiple threats
Funding:
Steering Committee U.S. Forest Service U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities Duke Energy Environmental Defense Fund The Nature Conservancy
Benefits & Challenges
Benefits Identify survival traits Insert survival traits Fast replication
Challenges Technical hurdles Environmental impacts Regulatory approval for transgenics Social acceptance
Neutral Space to Consider Biotech
Engage Broad Group of Stakeholders
Give Equal Weight to “Open Minded” Skeptics
Public Benefit Project
Braided Approach
Diverse Voices on Advisory Panels
Convene Series of Forums and Webinars
FHI Biotechnology Research
Genome sequence
Collection & coordination
Population genotyping
Early screen development
Vegetative propagation
Transgenics
complete parts list ~35,000 genes
Comparisons help identify important genes
Genomics – Chestnut Sequence
Vs
• Information exchange among centers
- to integrate current activities - to foster innovation
• Germplasm exchange for clonal testing
SUNY-ESF at Syracuse (Bill Powell, Chuck Maynard) Pennsylvania State University (John Carlson, Webb Miller) University of Georgia (Scott Merkle, Joe Nairn) USDA-FS SIFG (Dana Nelson)
Science Team Centers (Contact PIs)
Germplasm - Coordination
Populations
Chromosome segments
Genes
Determine origins of blight resistance
Integration of sequencing data to inform breeding programs
Germplasm – Population Genotyping
Current method • One embryo, one tree
• 5-7 years to screen
Clonal method • One embryo, many trees
• Earlier screen
Clonal Testing – Propagation & Screening
Agrobacterium Chestnut PEMs Embryos
Feasibility has been established
• Blight resistance candidate genes in the pipeline
• Candidate genes from Chinese chestnut are being discovered
Clonal Testing – Transgenic Lines
Established Field Testing Sites of Transgenic Lines
740 transgenic trees and 534 controls
Somatic seedlings with FHI CGs for Phytophthora resistance will be ready for screening in 2013
4-year-old tree, inoculated with the blight to evaluate resistance level after several months. PA-TACF http://www.patacf.org/patacfactivities.htm
Traditional stem assay vs. leaf assay
Traditional assays: 2 3 1
4 5 6
Leaf assays can be done with 6 or more leaves with results in 3 to 7 days.
Savings of ~ 4 years!
IFB Led the Regulatory & Policy Effort
1. Open lines of communication with policy stakeholders 2. Engage a wide spectrum of additional stakeholders
Phase 1 Start 5 years prior to use
Phase 2 Start 3-5 years prior to use
Phase 3 Start 3-1 years prior to use
Chart 2 - Relevant Patent Holders of Constructs 3. Review intellectual property
4. Assemble a biological dossier 5. Review regulatory landscape
6. Query agencies to define a regulatory course 7. Prepare an environmental report 8. Interact with agencies on future regulations
Social & Environmental Committee
The Nature Conservancy Society of American Foresters Conservation Fund Environmental Defense Fund The American Chestnut Foundation National Parks Service and others….
Forest Health Roadmap
Dialogue: Forest Biotechnology and Mobile Applications
CFS – LFC Seminar Series November 15, 2012 Susan McCord - [email protected]
Smart Phone Application
TreeTaggr is a citizen scientist app designed to enable individuals to report information related to tree diseases, parasites, and other environmental stresses.
Completion Funds ~$30K
TreeTaggr Development
02/2012 02/2013
Initial Scoping
✓ Database*
✓ API* ✓ Detailed Scoping
✓ Phone
Software ($20,000)
Website Front-end ($10,000)
* Work done in Canada
• Free to any user • Open source code • Database custom built for geographic analysis • Leaderboard encourages use and learning • Plan to capture 90% of smartphones with GPS
1. Android 2. iPhone 3. Windows phone
TreeTaggr.org
Stewardship: Forest Biotechnology and Certification Systems
CFS – LFC Seminar Series November 15, 2012 Susan McCord - [email protected]
SFM Systems and Biotech Trees
PEFC : Programme for Endorsement of Forest Certification
International Banned / Precautionary approach based on lack of data
FSC : Forest Stewardship Council International Banned / Precautionary approach based on lack of data
CerFlor : Certificação Florestal Brazil Banned via PEFC registration / No additional rationale
CertFor : Certficación Forestal Chile Banned via PEFC registration / No additional rationale
SFI : Sustainable Forestry Initiative N. America Banned via PEFC registration / Awaiting risk-benefit data
ATFS : American Tree Farm System USA Banned via PEFC registration / No additional rationale
CSA : Canadian Standards Association Canada Banned via PEFC registration / Allows public to determine
approach
CFCC : China Forest Certification Council China Banned via PEFC registration / No additional rationale
Responsible Use Initiative
• Phase 1, 3 years • Global stakeholder
input • Committee of
international experts
• Transparent process
• Phase 2, started 2012
Biotech Tree Value Chain
• NOT a certification system • Voluntary and easy to use • Global in scope • Transparency is critical: responsibleuse.org • Multistakeholder interaction
Principles are Globally Relevant
Bridge SFM gaps
Principles can be modified by users
Individual components can be adopted
Addresses some key stakeholder issues: Transparency Governance Stakeholder engagement Communication
Join the Forest Biotechnology Partnership: http://www.forestbiotech.org/partners.html
Subscribe to IFB’s news feed: http://forestbiotech.org/news
Join IFB’s Linked-In group: www.forestbiotech.org/linkedin
Adam Costanza Susan McCord [email protected] [email protected]
FORESTBIOTECH.ORG
IFB Resources
