The theme of the 14th email conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Biotechnology Forum, which took place between March 5 and April 1, 2007, was "Coping with water scarcity in developing countries: What role for agricultural biotechnologies?". The electronic forum on Biotechnology in Food and Agriculture was held on March 29, 2007.

The concern with biotechnology and nanotechnology is that we are tampering with complex organisms and we may not be aware of what we, as humanity, are going to unleash.

The precautionary principle is most often applied in the context of the impact of human actions on the environment and human health, as both involve complex systems where the consequences of actions may be unpredictable. When trying to address the water crisis through biotechnology it is important that the precautionary principle is applied.