Biosecurity - Origins, Transformations and Practices

Biosecurity is a term with a rising currency. Yet it means different things to different people, organizations, and states around the world. For some the term means protecting and enhancing biodiversity, while for others it signals the efforts to contain animal diseases. In the post 9-11 world, biosecurity has also come to refer to the various measures envisaged and enacted to counter threats from biological weapons. In this volume, thirteen contributors explore the origins and meanings of 'biosecurity' in the context of efforts to prevent the destructive application of modern science. Biosecurity includes views from international and professional organizations, from States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention, and from diverse countries across the globe - including China, the US, Argentina, Japan, South Africa, New Zealand and Germany.

The Definitions, Uses and Implications of Biosecurity; B.Rappert PART I: BIOSECURITY IN THE INTERNATIONAL ARENA The Pre-History of Biosecurity: Strategies of Managing Risks to Collective Health; F.Lentzos The Rise of Biosecurity in International Arms Control; J.Revill& M.Dando Science of Mass Destruction: How Biosecurity Became an Issue for Academies of Science; K.van der Bruggen Biosecurity at the OECD; D.B.Sawaya Clarifying Biosecurity Terms: Recent Activities at the U.S. National Academies; B.Rusek PART II: IN COMPARISON The Importance of China as a Biosecurity Actor; M.Barr Dealing with the Dual-Use Aspects of Life Science Activities in Japan; K.Furukawa Biosecurity in New Zealand; T.Dunworth Biological Weapons Prevention in South Africa; C.Gould Biosecurity in Argentina; M.Lema Strategies to Prevent Bioterrorism: Biosecurity Policies in the United States and Germany; J.B.Tucker Conclusion; C.Gould