Submitted by
brookst
on Mon, 01/28/2019 - 14:16
General Information
Resolution
46503
Period covered
Activities to implement this Resolution from Activity Reports
| Relevant operative para(s) of Res/Rec | Activities Overview | Description | Status | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Convene stakeholders/Networking | A 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 | Full activity report | |
| Fundraising | The 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 | Full activity report |
Actors involved from Activity Reports
| IUCN Members | IUCN Commissions | IUCN Secretariat | Other non-IUCN related organisations |
|---|---|---|---|
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Challenges / lessons learned from Activity Reports
External link(s)
Report status
Published
I. IUCN Constituencies implementing this Resolution
IUCN Members
No other Members are/have been involved
IUCN Commissions
F517E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623
F117E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623
F317E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623
F717E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623
F917E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623
FB17E09E-5094-E611-97F4-005056BA6623
IUCN Secretariat
Yes
Other non-IUCN related organisations
All IUCN Members (and all IUCN Commission members, and indeed the general public) were invited to provide peer reviews of the draft assessment; all IUCN Members, IUCN Commission members, and Regional Conservation Fora will also be invited to comment on the draft policy
II. Implementation
Activities carried out to implement this Resolution
Convene stakeholders/Networking
Scientific/technical activities
Describe the results/achievements of the activities
In 2017, the IUCN Synthetic Biology and Biodiversity Conservation Task Force was established, and its Chair appointed, under the authority of all six IUCN Commissions and the IUCN DG (see http://www.iucn.org/synbio). In 2018, the Task Force appointed a Technical Sub-Group, which drafted the Assessment of Synthetic Biology and Biodiversity Conservation. This was sent for peer review by a) expert peer reviewers appointed by the IUCN DG, b) Union-wide peer review, and c) public peer review; the Technical Sub-Group comprehensively revised the draft based on these peer reviews, and documented responses to each of the ~700 comments. The Task Force presented a "soft launch" of the assessment at the CBD COP 14 in Nov 2018, receiving useful additional feedback. The final assessment will be published in early 2019. Finally, the Task Force advanced fundraising over 2018, receiving financial support for the process from the Governments of Switzerland and France, the Luc Hoffmann Institute, and the Gordon & Betty Moore Foundation.
Challenges/obstacles encountered in the implementation of this Resolution and measures taken
Importance of coordination and synergy with other ongoing processes on synthetic biology and biodiversity conservation eg CBD AHTEGs. To address this, a number of Task Force members are participating in the CBD processes, and IUCN convened a side event at CBD COP 14.
Future actions / activities needed for the implementation of this Resolution
In 2019, IUCN Council will initiate the policy development process, and so the work of the Task Force will shift to supporting this through consultation of IUCN Members, Commission members, and Regional Conservation Fora.
Are these actions/activities planned?
Yes
III. Status of implementation
Implementation status of this Resolution
Underway: implementation well-advanced