Summary : A study of the SEA regional situation revealed that biosafety guidelines are in place and operational in most of SEA except in Lao and Cambodia. The ASEAN, through its various committees has developed guidelines to harmonize biosafety regulations for agricultural products derived from biotechnology. The Codex Alimentarius is recognized by WTO members as the reference for food safety. The Codex requires science-based evaluation of biotechnology derived foods. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, adopted during the fifth conference of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in May 2000, works on the basis of precautionary principle and provides global rules to control transboundary movements, fransfer, and handling of GMOs. Concerns about intellectual property rights (IPRs) and their protection have arisen from the tremendous private sector investment in agricultural biotechnology in the past two decades. Thus, managing agribiotechnology IPR is needed to effectively deal with biotech creations, their distribution and applications, their interaction with industry, and assistance to the biotechnologist. In most Southeast Asian countries, laws which protect IPs, such as copyright, patent, trademark, among others, are in place. However, offices or personnel involved may need to be upgraded as they may not be adequately prepared to evaluate biotech applications. Efforts to enact Plant Varietal Protection (PVP) laws are underway. However, patenting of life forms except microorganisms is not allowed in most SEA countries. Even as adoption of modern technology products increases, concerns regarding their biosafety to human health and environment and safety as food or feed and intellectual property rights are shared by private, government, and civil society sectors. However, since there is no such thing as zero-risk technology, studies on risks associated with biotechnology, those inherent to the technology and those that transcend it, and their management...