Incidents of bioterrorism and biowarfare are likely to recur, leading to increased public concern and government action. The deficiencies of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC) are in urgent need of attention: the BTWC is the central international agreement to prevent the proliferation of biological warfare programmes. Uniquely, this book is written by diplomats involved in the decade-long effort (1991-2001) in which State Parties to the BTWC tried to agree a Protocol to the Convention with legally binding measures to strengthen its effectiveness, and academics concerned with the negotiations. Just before negotiations foundered, when the Chairman's proposed text was virtually complete, the problems and proposed solutions were examined thoroughly, leading to this book. The book is wide-ranging in its review of the history of biological warfare, the reasons why the current biological revolution is of such concern, and the main features of the BTWC itself. The core of the book examines the key elements of the proposed protocol - declarations, visits, challenge-type investigations, and enhanced international cooperation - and the implications for government, industry and biodefence, giving us all a better understanding of what still remains to be done to avert a biowarfare catastrophe.

Product Description: The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, while it is primarily a security treaty, does contain provisions for the promotion of technical cooperation and development. There is clearly a direct relationship between technical cooperation in regard to disease surveillance and reporting and the capability to distinguish between natural and deliberate outbreaks of disease...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: There is increasing concern over the possible use of biological weapons. If they are used, an attack will manifest as a disease outbreak among humans, animals or plants. It is thus important to be able to distinguish between natural disease outbreaks and the result of such an attack...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: There is increasing concern over the possible use of biological weapons. If they are used, an attack will manifest as a disease outbreak among humans, animals or plants. It is thus important to be able to distinguish between natural disease outbreaks and the result of such an attack...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

Product Description: Biotechnology is vital to counter biological and toxin weapons. Without biotechnology, the detection, identification and diagnoses of, and medical countermeasures to such weapons would be virtually impossible. As biological and toxin agents occur in natural outbreaks of disease or intoxications, there are both civil and military benefit to be had from the use of biotechnology in providing effective countermeasures to such agents...read more

Product Description: The papers in this volume provide an integrated overview and in-depth analysis of the issues involved in the negotiations leading to the Protocol to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, involving consideration of the key scientific and technical issues involved and also of the political context within which these issues have to be considered by the negotiators...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)