Motion 087

This motion was mandated by WCC-2020-Res-123 (Annex III.B.f): “The third draft of the IUCN policy on synthetic biology will be submitted to the IUCN Council, which will transmit it, through a motion, to the next meeting of the IUCN World Conservation Congress for debate and potential adoption by the Members of IUCN.”

In May 2022 the Programme and Policy Committee of IUCN Council (PPC) established the PPC Working Group on Res 123 to oversee its implementation. Then in November 2022 IUCN Council Decision C108/2 provided further details on the process for implementation and terms of reference of the bodies involved. Council Decision C109/8 provided further specificity, in response to Members’ comments.

PPC Working Group on Res 123, with strong support from the Secretariat, has been ensuring the delivery of the draft “IUCN policy on synthetic biology in relation to nature conservation”, for consideration by the 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress. The group has communicated regularly about the steps taken both through direct communication to all IUCN constituents, as well as through a dedicated webpage (https://iucn.org/synbio).

This draft policy is the result of invaluable work undertaken by different constituents of IUCN, especially, IUCN Members who participated in the Citizens Assembly, the Policy Development Working Group, Members and Commission members who participated in the inclusive and participatory process and in the two peer reviews of the draft policy, members of the IUCN Secretariat, including the Regional Offices who hosted several meetings. This process engaged ICGEB as trainers and facilitators, recruited following the IUCN Procurement Process, to support the meetings of the Citizens Assembly and of the Policy Development Working Group.

The generous contributions funding the implementation of WCC-2020-Res-123 were granted by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection of the Government of Germany, and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. A firm decision was made not to approach the private sector and campaigning organisations for financial support.

Implementing this proposed motion would not necessarily require additional financial resources. The main aspect of the motion is to adopt the draft “IUCN policy on synthetic biology in relation to nature conservation”. The motion also calls upon IUCN constituents to follow this policy if engaging with synthetic biology; and recommends to share knowledge, guidance and contribute to build capacities as might be necessary for the implementation of this policy, including through participation in international policy discussions. These activities could be combined with the regular activities of the different constituents, and follow their own fundraising efforts as each constituent may consider necessary. In particular, the adopted policy would be taken into account by the IUCN delegations in their regular engagement within international policy instruments.

Synthetic biology has been subject of deliberations in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the World Health Organization, among others. The CBD invited an IUCN Council member to participate as an observer into its Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Synthetic Biology, and in turn provided a CBD Secretariat member as observer to the Policy Development Working Group.