Dear Commission members,
The IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille, France, in September 2021 adopted WCC 2020 Res 123, to develop an IUCN policy on synthetic biology in relation to nature conservation. This resolution calls for an inclusive discussion process on the topic across the Union, and for the appointment of a Policy Development Working Group to draft the policy taking into account the inputs from this inclusive discussion.
IUCN Council decisions 108/2 and 109/8 approved both a detailed process for implementation of the Resolution, and Terms of Reference for specific bodies to be involved, including for the Policy Development Working Group and for its Chair/Co-Chairs.
Call for nominations
On behalf of IUCN Council, we therefore now request your nominations for staff of IUCN Member organisations and for IUCN Commission members to serve on the Policy Development Working Group. Please refer to the Terms of Reference before submitting your nominations by 21 July 2023 through the online form available here.
After receiving your nominations, as per mandated on the Resolution, the IUCN President will appoint a list of potential participants for the Working Group (using criteria in Res 123), including a Chair or Co-Chairs, and send out to IUCN Members the list of names and brief biographies. IUCN Members will then be invited to send feedback to the IUCN President about its overall composition.
The IUCN President will then take this feedback into account in appointing and announcing the final list of participants of the Working Group and its Chair or Co-Chairs.
For questions, please contact synbio@iucn.org.
Call for information
In addition, we would like to invite IUCN Member organisations and IUCN Commission members to share scientific papers, reports, and other information, including relevant indigenous and local knowledge, relevant to synthetic biology in relation to nature conservation, through this link, by 31 August 2023. This includes specific ecological aspects, and wider questions such as conceptual, socio-economic, cultural, ethical and legal impacts of the diverse existing and possible future applications of synthetic biology, including gene drives, for nature conservation purposes. This documentation will be compiled and conveyed to the Policy Development Working Group for their consideration.
These two calls – for nominations, and for information – are non-mutually exclusive: IUCN constituents are invited to respond to one, the other, or both.
Finally, we draw your attention to two Requests for Proposals issued through IUCN procurement (https://www.iucn.org/procurement/currently-running-tenders) today, soliciting bids from respected scientific institutions (e.g. national academies of natural and social science) to serve as trainers and facilitators to support the implementation of Res 123. IUCN Members and IUCN Commission members are invited to share these RFPs with relevant institutions, and encourage them to submit bids.
We look forward to receiving your nominations and information, and to your active involvement in this important process.
Kind regards,
Membership and Commission Support Unit
on behalf of IUCN Council Programme and Policy Committee Res 123 Working Group