BIOTECHNOLOGICAL APPROACHES FOR

SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENTPROPOSED BY ICBA

ENVIROMENTAL BIOLOGY | SEM II | BOTANY PG

RKMVCC, RAHARA
WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ?
Sustainable development is a broad term that describes projects, policies, and investments that
provide benefits today without sacrificing environmental, social, and personal health in the
future.

WHAT IS ICBA ?
ICBA or International Council of Biotechnology Associations
The International Council of Biotechnology Associations (ICBA) is a coalition of non-profit,
national biotechnology trade associations formed to promote public understanding of, and
to advocate for, public policies that support the growth of the innovative biotechnology
industries. The ICBA represents the global voice of the industry in international fora with the
goal of promoting continued innovation in the human health, agriculture, and industrial and
environmental sectors.
HOW ICBA IS GOOD FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ?
ICBA partners with its national authorities and international organizations to unleash the tools of
biotechnology to overcome global challenges.

Breakthroughs in biotechnology can:

• Cure once incurable diseases;

• Enable rapid response to health crises;
• Improve plant health to withstand environmental stress to enhance food security;
• Promote animal health
• Address antimicrobial resistance
• Reduce greenhouse gases and
• Develop food ingredients that provide micronutrients and fortified food solutions to help end hunger.
AIMS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
ICBA has proposed several goals or strategies for sustainable development as well as SDG as mentioned
below :

• SDG 1: NO POVERTY
• SDG 2: ZERO HUNGER
• SDG 3: GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
• SDG 6: CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
• SDG 7: AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY
• SDG 8: DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
• SDG 9: INDUSTRY, INNOVATION, AND INFRASTRUCTURE
• SDG 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
• SDG 13: CLIMATE ACTION
• SDG 14: LIFE BELOW WATER
• SDG 15: LIFE ON LAND
• SDG 17: GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
SDG 1: NO POVERTY

Biotechnology helps farmers increase their incomes and reduce their vulnerability to
climate change.
• Increases farm income through higher productivity and lower production costs
• Improves crop resiliency to climate change, enabling more stable farm incomes.

For subsistence farmers, poverty and hunger are directly linked. Agricultural
biotechnology offers solutions that support both objectives.

• From 1996-2016, the net farm income gain from biotech crops was $186.1 billion, benefiting
approximately 17 million farmers, many of whom are farmers.
• In India, insect resistant Bt cotton has yielded a 50% gain in profit among farmers and raised household
income by 18%.
• Bt eggplant varieties are helping farmers increase crop yields and triple their incomes.
• Bt eggplant helps farmers better protect their crops from fruit and shoot borer larvae and drastically
reduces their need for pesticides.
SDG 2: ZERO HUNGER
Agricultural biotechnology is critical in helping to feed a growing world population produces healthier and more productive crops

• Reduces food waste by extending shelf life of produce

• Improves child nutrition through enhancing staple crops with increased amounts of essential vitamins and minerals.

• Biotech crops with insect-resistant genes can be critical in combating pests that decimate crops.
• Biotechnology is helping to produce more productive crops.
• Biotech crops can help farmers minimize losses associated with extreme weather events, particularly drought.
• Reduce food waste by extending shelf life of produce.
• Nutritionally enhanced GM crops can help to alleviate under-nourishment around the world.

SDG 3: GOOD HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

Biotechnology plays a critical role in saving lives and improving the quality of life for populations across the globe.

To achieve GOOD HEALTH and WELL-BEING, biotechnology companies:

1. Develop medicines to help people live longer, healthier lives;
2. Produce vaccines and other tools to prevent and contain epidemics; and
3. Detect and diagnose conditions sooner and with greater accuracy and precision.

• Biotechnology research and development (R&D) has led to breakthroughs improving life expectancy and quality of life for the global
population.
• Biotechnology therapies and vaccines have reduced the spread of infectious diseases and help to contain epidemics and pandemics.
• Biotechnology companies are working to deliver high-impact health technologies to countries across the globe to reduce inequities
in health.
• Biotech tests detect and diagnose conditions sooner and with greater accuracy and precision - helping improve patient prognoses.
SDG 6: CLEAN WATER AND SANITATION
Biotechnology helps ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation.

To achieve CLEAN WATER and improve SANITATION, biotechnology:

1. Uses bacteria and plants for water purification
2. Removes chemical contaminants from water.

• Biotechnology companies are developing new methods using biological processes to deliver clean drinking water to communities
across the globe.
• Agriculture biotechnology contributes to global efforts to maintain clean waterways.

SDG 7: AFFORDABLE AND CLEAN ENERGY

Biofuels, a cleaner and more sustainable source of energy, are produced from a wide range of renewable biomass feedstocks and can
contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by substituting for hydrocarbons in transportation fuel.

Biofuels contribute to the REDUCTION of GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS as:

1. Countries and cities adopt them as a primary source of energy; and
2. Companies commit to increased production and use of biofuels.

• Countries and cities are increasingly using biofuels as a source of energy.

• Global companies and institutions are committing to increasing the production and use of cleaner energy sources.
SDG 8: DECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Biotechnology innovations, such as medicines and agricultural products, present populations with opportunities for economic growth.

To achieve ECONOMIC GROWTH, biotechnology:

1. Provides farmers with inputs to grow crops with higher yields and fewer inputs; and
2. Contributes to healthier workforces.

• Countries and farmers growing GM crops have seen tremendous economic benefits.
• Biopharmaceutical products have led to healthier workforces and economic development.

SDG 9: INDUSTRY, INNOVATION, AND INFRASTRUCTURE

Research and development in the field of biotechnology is occurring across the globe empowering scientists to develop solutions to the
most pressing global challenges.

To achieve inclusive INDUSTRY INNOVATION and INFRASTRUCTURE, biotechnology companies and countries are committed to:
1. Constructing biotechnology parks;
2. Investing in infrastructure to increase R&D capabilities; and
3. Connecting to the international community to create opportunities for investment and partnerships.

The construction of biotechnology parks contributes to the global growth of the industry.
Companies, multilateral institutions, foreign governments, and NGOs are investing in infrastructure to increase R&D capabilities in
developing countries.
Researchers and start-up companies from across the globe are connecting with the international community for investment and
partnership opportunities.
SDG 12: RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION
Innovation in industrial biotechnology can contribute to the reduction of over extraction of resources and
expedite efforts to responsibly use environmental resources. Industrial biotechnology applies life science
tools, such as microbes and enzymes, to traditional manufacturing and chemical processes to produce
cleaner, more sustainable products and materials.

To achieve RESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION, applications of biotechnology:

1. Reuse materials destined for landfills to create new products;
2. Use enzymes and other biological processes to create sustainable products; and
3. Create environmentally sound processes to manage chemicals.

• Bioplastics, developed by biotechnology companies, can substitute for petroleum-based plastics,

replacing waste destined for a landfill with biodegradable, compostable consumer products.
• Biotechnology companies are researching and developing new methods to reuse materials destined for
landfills to create new bio-based products.
• Biotechnology companies are researching and developing methods to use enzymes to replace fossil-
based ingredients in consumer products, including cleaning supplies.
• Applications of biotechnology can help to ensure the environmentally sound management of
chemicals.
SDG 13: CLIMATE ACTION
Agricultural and industrial applications of biotechnology are critical in combating and coping with the effects of climate change.
To combat and cope with CLIMATE CHANGE, biotechnology:
1. Replaces traditional energy sources with cleaner fuel options;
2. Reduces greenhouse gas emissions through the use of GM crops; and
3. Provides solutions for subsistence farmers combating the effects of climate change.

• Global companies and institutions are scaling up the use of biofuels.

• Airlines are using biofuels as jet fuel to reduce carbon emissions from air travel by 60%.
• Biotech crops contribute to a reduction of greenhouse gases.
• Biotech crops help farmers adapt to the effects of climate change.

SDG 14: LIFE BELOW WATER

Innovation in biotechnology can contribute to efforts to conserve and sustainably use ocean resources.

To PRESERVE MARINE ECOSYSTEMS, biotechnology:

1. Uses genomic sciences to provide new foods and food production methods;
2. Safeguards ecosystems at risk; and
3. Reduces nutrient run-off into waterways.

• Innovation in food production from the sea, known as the “blue revolution,” uses genomics, technologies, and recombinant DNA
technology to address overfishing.
• Marine biotechnology can play an important role in safeguarding ecosystems from direct and indirect threats.
• Agricultural biotechnology can reduce nutrient runoff into waterways that threatens marine life.
SDG 15: LIFE ON LAND
Agricultural biotechnology innovation contributes to the protection of terrestrial ecosystems and biodiversity.
To PRESERVE LIFE ON LAND, biotechnology:
1. Preserves water and topsoil through sustainable farming;
2. Enables more precise pest control, better preserving biodiversity;
3. Uses less land to farm crops resulting in less deforestation and the preservation of biodiversity can save vital trees and crops at risk
of extinction.

• GM crops support more sustainable farming that preserves water and topsoil.
• Insect resistant crops enable more precise pest control, better preserving biodiversity
• GM crops use one-fifth less farm land to produce food. This means less deforestation and preservation of biodiversity.
• Biotechnology researchers have helped to save trees and crops at risk of extinction.

SDG 17: GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Biotechnology companies, NGOs, research institutions, multilateral institutions, and governments are creating global partnerships with
countries, companies, and researchers across the globe.

Biotechnology companies are creating GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS to:

1. Transfer biotechnology innovations for sustainable growth
2. Build innovative biotechnology sectors to equip local scientists with the knowledge and tools to develop solutions to societal
challenges.

• Biotechnology companies, international institutions and global research centers are partnering to strengthen R&D capabilities and
transfer technologies to assist in sustainable growth.