The government of Burkina Faso has ordered the immediate halt of the Target Malaria initiative operating in the country. Target Malaria had just begun its second field trial with genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes, aiming to gain knowledge and experience before moving toward the release of GM mosquitoes with gene drives at a later stage.
As the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) prepares to take a position on synthetic biology in conservation, Joann Sy of Pollinis warns that we must not reframe nature conservation as a project of engineering but view it as a project of care, restoration and restraint.
Should genetic engineering be used to kill off invasive species, or make corals resistant to warmer waters? Should endangered species be genetically modified in the name of nature conservation? The controversy over the role of genetic engineering in nature conservation continues to intensify. Two motions have been submitted for adoption by the World Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) later this year.
For those concerned about the unregulated and potentially uncontrollable spread of genetically modified organisms, there was a lot at stake at the 16th Conference of the Parties to the UN Biodiversity Convention.
The 16th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Cali produced few encouraging results with regard to the Precautionary Priniciple and the effective regulation of genetically engineered organisms, particularly gene drives.
Things have changed at the Convention for Biological Diversity, CBD, says Jim Thomas who participated in most of the Convention’s COPs (CBD Conference of Parties) and MOPs (Meeting of Parties to the CBDs Biosafety Protocol) in this century.
As biotechnology reaches ever greater capabilities to “re-design” nature, some want to turn the CBD into a place for the promotion rather than regulation of biotechnology. Parties to the Convention cannot let this happen, warns German-based NGO Save Our Seeds.
At COP16, parties should reaffirm the ‘broad and regular’ horizon scanning and agree on the next steps in the CBD’s Synthetic Biology program.
As scientists and environmentalists grapple with synthetic biology, a crucial debate failed to materialize at the IUCN regional meeting in Bruges, Belgium. Instead, the meeting revealed significant concerns about the organization’s policy development process on synthetic biology and its implications for nature conservation.
Synthetic biology is not merely a tool for conservation but represents a paradigm shift that demands careful, thoughtful consideration before application.