Policy Brief Presents Environmental, Socio-economic, and Health Impact Assessment for Gene Drive Organisms

ISAAA Inc., in partnership with the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research, launched a new policy brief that discusses the environmental, socio-economic, and health impact assessment (ESHIA) for gene drive organisms.

The policy brief, titled Environmental, Socio-economic, and Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) for Gene Drive Organisms, is the second release in a series that aims to present proposed policy options and impacts that address issues relating to gene drive technology. The following questions were answered in the second policy brief:

• What is environmental, socio-economic, and health impact assessment (ESHIA)?
• How is an ESHIA different from an environmental risk assessment (ERA)?
• How is an ESHIA undertaken?

According to the policy brief, ESHIA is helpful because it offers an analysis that helps assess the advantages and disadvantages of action and inaction, which is essential to inform decisions. In addition, it also requires public participation and information sharing with numerous stakeholder groups throughout the process, integrating different views and perspectives to the assessment. ESHIA and ERA complement each other, and their findings should be considered on decisions regarding the release of gene drive technologies, whether for research or use.

To learn more about ESHIA for gene drive organisms, download and read the policy brief from the ISAAA Inc. website.