Biotechnology and development: threats and promises for the 21st century

This paper sets out to clarify the complex issues of risk perception and management in connection with biotechnology and Third World development. It summarises the main threats and promises associated with the technology before explaining why traditional approaches to risk are flawed from both a scientific and an ethical standpoint. It ends by making suggestions about how the precautionary principle may be made an operational tool for governments interested in ensuring that biotechnology leads to sustainable development