WCC 2016 Res 086 - Activity Report

Submitted by Simon.STUART on Fri, 01/26/2018 - 13:32
General Information
Development of IUCN policy on biodiversity conservation and synthetic biology
IUCN Constituent: 
2013-2016 Commission Chairs
Period covered: 
2018
Geographic scope: 
Global
In implementing this Resolution your organization has worked/consulted with...
IUCN Members: 
Office fédéral de l'environnement ( OFEV FOEN ) / Switzerland
Wildlife Conservation Society ( WCS ) / United States of America
IUCN Commissions: 
IUCN Commission on Ecosystems Management 2017-2020 (CEM)
IUCN Commission on Education and Communication 2017-2020 (CEC)
IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic, and Social Policy 2017-2020 (CEESP)
IUCN Species Survival Commission 2017-2020 (SSC)
IUCN World Commission on Environmental Law 2017-2020 (WCEL)
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas 2017-2020 (WCPA)
IUCN Secretariat: 
Yes
Other non-IUCN related organisations: 
Synchronicity Earth
Implementation
Indicate and briefly describe any actions that have been carried out to implement this Resolution: 
ActionDescriptionStatus
Convene stakeholders/NetworkingA work plan has been developed for the development of IUCN's policy on synthetic biology. This work plan has been used to develop the terms of reference of the inter-commissional task force to oversee the policy-development process. These terms of reference were developed through a collaboration between the Species Survival Commission, the Chief Scientist, the Global Policy Unit and the Environmental Law Centre. The Commission Chairs have signed off on the terms of reference, and Dr Kent Redford has been appointed to chair the task force. As of 26/1/2018 he is going through the process of identifying and appointing members of the task force, and Commission Chairs have been asked to nominate task force members. The task force is expected to meet and start its work in the coming months.On-going
FundraisingThe work plan referred to above was developed into a fundraising proposal and sent to several potential donors. Funding has been secured to enable the work to start, but more funding still needs to be secured. The initial donors are the Swiss Office fédéral de l'environnement (OFEV) and the Luc Hoffmann Institute (affiliated with WWF International). The Chief Scientist and Dr Redford played critical roles in securing these two donations.On-going
Please report on the result /achievement of the actions taken: 
The real work is only just about to start.
What challenges have you encountered in implementing this Resolution and what measures have you taken to overcome them?: 
The initial challenge has been fundraising, and this has slowed us down considerably. Once we move into full implementation, there will of course be challenges relating to the complexity of the issues surrounding synthetic biology and the likely polarised opinions among sections of the IUCN Membership.
Identify and briefly describe what future actions are planned for the implementation of this Resolution: 
Future ActionDescription
FundraisingSignificantly more money needs to be raised if the work plan is to be implemented. Time is of the essence if we are to have a chance of submitting a well thought-through and thoroughly reviewed draft policy to the 2020 IUCN Congress.
Scientific/technical activitiesWe now need to implement the agreed work plan, which is attached to this report.
Additional Information
Upload document: 
File IUCN Synthetic Biology Resolution Workplan-9 Oct 2017.docx