Genetic Frontiers for Conservation

The explosion of research on DNA has brought technologies that allow humans to alter the genes of organisms to make them do things that humans want and that those organisms would not normally do – synthetic biology. These rapidly evolving technologies create exciting opportunities in many fields, including new kinds of conservation, but they also raise serious questions and complex challenges. Given this, in 2016, IUCN’s Members requested (WCC-2016-Res-086) an evidence-based assessment of the issues regarding synthetic biology that are relevant to and may have an impact – negative or positive – on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. The assessment was published in 2019 under mandate of IUCN’s six expert Commissions and Director General. It addressed >700 peer review comments. This facilitated panel discussion will present the diverse perspectives and case studies reported, and provide an opportunity for panellists to debate the key issues with each other.