CONTRIBUTIONS ITEM 1: Perspectives on an Identity Card or Certificate for Scientists ITEM2:Transparancy as a nonproliferation-factor in bioterrorism ITEM3: Scientific Freedom and National Security: Devil’s Bargain or Dual Responsibility ITEM4: QUO VADIS BIOTECHNOLOGY? : CURRENT TRENDS AND FUTURE ISSUES ITEM5: Policy planning for ICSU and WAAS ITEM6:Nuclear terrorists and excess weapons uranium

ON-LINE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE DISCUSSIONS AT THE SEMINAR:
”MICROBIAL BIOTECHNOLOGY – FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE ”,
The Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, Stockholm, Sept.11th 2003.

. INTRODUCTION: Carl-Goran Heden.
The annual Biopolicy Seminars, that were initiated in the year 2000, try to combine a retrospective and a forward-looking perspective. In addition the Biofocus Foundation (BF) is making an effort to link up the content of the seminars in such a way that they supplement each other as well as other coming events. The 2003 conference will for instance serve as a springboard for two initiatives in 2004: 1/ a Biopolicy Seminar (Oct.25-27th) entitled ”Social Innovations for Development – Revisited”, when the need for anticipatory social innovations will be discussed, and 2/ the Assembly of the World Academy of Art and Science, entitled: ”The Future of Knowledge”.

The seminar programs are generated through feedbacks from numerous fellows of the World Academy of Art and Science and from the participants in various BF-activities of the Academy. For logistic and financial reasons the great majority of those individuals are often unable to join their seminar collegues in person. Hence this new on-line window at the BF homepage (www.biofocus.org), where Tommy Jonsson will make the inputs appear as soon as he receives them (tj@ekvitec.com).

The following two contributions refer to the ”Two Years After”-discussion, Following an old paper from 1968, there is an input on transparancy as a disarmament factor, which I have written together-with BF:s Chairman, Ambassador Anders Wijkman. The Biopolicy Lecture by Dr.Edgar da Silva, will be added to the home page one week ahead of the seminar

GENERAL BACKGROUND.
The recent upsurge of interest in bioterrorism, and the problem of keeping track of disturbed ”scientists” with potentially dangerous knowledge, or with access to critical facilities, is definitely a problem. This I noted as a BW-defence intelligence consultant in the early 1960ies, and it became increasingly obvious, when I led an international field experiment in 1968/69. This was designed to determine if production of BW-agents on a militarily significant scale could be carried out in non-secret microbiological research and industrial establishments (pp.51-61in Vol.VI /”Technical Aspects of Early Warning and Verification”/in SIPRIS’ ”The Problem of Chemical and Bioilogical Warfare”-volumes. Almqvist and Wiksell, Uppsala and Humanities Press, New York 1975).

This experience led me to speculate about the need for a Membership Card for the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). That concept could of course be regarded as an anticipatory social innovation, which is one of the reasons why the old paper follows below. The other reason is that current events give the idea renewed relevance. It for instance now attracts attention in ICSU’s Standing Committe on Freedom in the Conduct of Science (SCFCS), a Succesor of the Counil’s ”Free Circulation Committee” which originally considered the proposal. It however met some hesitation with regard to the technical feasibility of a major effort, so a stepwise development, starting with the International Association (now Union) of Micro-biological Societies (IAMS) was suggested. However, the financial implications for IAMS were so onerous that the idea had to be shelved.