Biodiversity is under threat. The accelerating loss of nature – driven by habitat destruction, climate change, invasive species, and pollution – is undermining entire ecosystems and human and planetary health. Wildlife populations are declining at unprecedented rates, with one million species threatened with extinction, many within decades, unless transformative action is taken. The impacts of this crisis extend beyond the environment. The disruption of healthy ecosystems – on which we and all other species depend on to survive – increases the risk of infectious diseases, such as zoonoses and vector borne diseases, while threatening economies and livelihoods.
As we approach the next IUCN World Conservation Congress, governments, civil society, and the scientific community have an opportunity to reaffirm and strengthen their commitment to address the needs of both nature and people through transformative conservation action.
While existing conservation tools have delivered many successes, they are not enough to reverse the current biodiversity crisis. Many approaches – such as rodenticides to control invasive rodents, replanting to regenerate coral reefs, or translocations to increase population genetic diversity – are hampered by high costs, technical limitations, and challenges in replicability and scalability, especially in remote or resource-limited settings. Global health crises are directly linked to the biodiversity crisis. In this area too, innovations are needed to tackle diseases such as malaria and other vector borne diseases.
New tools derived from synthetic biology, including genetic approaches, offer the potential to complement existing conservation and public health strategies and address challenges that have proven difficult or impossible to solve using current means.
Some synthetic biology approaches are now well established. Synbio techniques enabled the development of an alternative to horseshoe crab blood, which is widely used in drug and vaccine testing. Uptake of this alternative by the pharmaceutical industry is helping reduce pressure on this threatened species. Other applications are still in development: genetically engineered bacteria to combat coral bleaching by targeting pathogens or restoring microbial balance in stressed reefs; genetically modified rodents to control populations of invasive alien species on islands; or genetic editing to increase frogs’ resistance to deadly fungal pathogens. Engineered or synthetic microbiome communities also hold tremendous potential to help increase plant resilience to climate change, while also being explored to address human diseases, such as infections.
An IUCN moratorium on genetically engineering wild species and microbiome communities would stifle research, compromise potential breakthroughs, and send a discouraging message to the next generation of scientists advancing transformative solutions in conservation and health. With nature declining at an unprecedented pace, this is not a time to retreat from bold solutions, but to advance them responsibly and collaboratively.
Governments, civil society, and the scientific community are working together to uphold rigorous safety and ethical standards in the research, development and use of genetic tools, and to broaden access to these technologies. This effort leverages existing policy frameworks, prior experience, and best practices, ensuring responsible application of these technologies and thorough risk assessment and management while also deploying monitoring and containment strategies to guard against accidental introduction into natural ecosystems.
We strongly support the precautionary approach, but precaution must not be equated with inaction. The responsible path forward is not to impose a moratorium, but to evaluate each application of synthetic biology on a case-by-case basis, guided by transparent, science-based risk assessments and ethical standards, as originally proposed by the IUCN Policy on Synthetic Biology (Motion 087). Research and community engagement are key to reducing uncertainty and ensuring that these tools are used safely, effectively, and in the service of conservation goals.
We urge IUCN members to reject a moratorium on genetically engineering wild species and microbiome communities to show that IUCN remains open to scientific innovation and to engage in thoughtful, inclusive discussions about its role. A moratorium would close the door to innovative tools at the very moment we need these most. If we are to advance the One Health agenda, restore threatened ecosystems and bring back biodiversity, science and innovation must be part of the solution.
Sign as an individual
Sign as an organization
Dr Piero Genovesi
IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group
Dr Doria Gordon
Environmental Defense Fund
Dr Tiffany Kosch
University of Melbourne, Amphibian Genomics Consortium, IUCN Oceania and IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group
Prof Carolyn Hogg
The University of Sydney, IUCN SSC Conservation Translocation Specialist Group, Conservation Planning SG, Conservation Genetics SG, Animal Biobanking for Conservation SG, Red List Committee
Relebohile Ramokoatsi
Ministry of Environment and Forestry
Lesotho
Dr Patrick Buerger
Macquarie University
Prof Samantha M. Wisely
University of Florida
IUCN SSC Conservation Genetics Specialist Group
Prof George Church
Harvard Medical School
Dr Hernán E. Morales
University of Copenhagen
IUCN Species Survival Commission
Prof Paul Thomas
University of Adelaide
Dr Andy Sheppard
CSIRO
IUCN Species Survival Commission
Dr Inti Keith
Charles Darwin Foundation
IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group
Prof Peter B. Moyle
University of California, Davis
IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group
Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul
Former German Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development
Prof Richard Frankham
Macquarie University
IUCN SSC Conservation Planning Specialist Group
Dr Sabrina Kumschick
Stellenbosch University
IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group
Prof Masanori Arita
National Institute of Genetics
Dr Akoudjin Massouroudini
Agence Nationale de Biosécurité (ANB), Burkina Faso
Dr Zézouma Sanon
Agence Nationale de Biosécurité (ANB), Burkina Faso
Prof Tammy Steeves
University of Canterbury
IUCN SSC Conservation Translocation Specialist Group
Dr Paul K. Abram
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Dr Jan-Hendrik Groenewald
Biosafety South Africa
Prof John Wilson
South African National Biodiversity Institute
IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group
Dr Kent H. Redford
Archipelago Consulting
IUCN Species Survival Commission, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas
Dr Jason Delborne
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr Muhammad Rais
PMAS AAUR
IUCN Species Survival Commission
Prof Laurie Zoloth
University of Chicago
Prof Azra Ghani
Imperial College London
Dr Rhodora Romero-Aldemita
International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), Inc.
Prof Andrea Crisanti
Imperial College London
David Will
Island Conservation
Prof Claudio Pádua
IPÊ Institute for Ecological Research
IUCN Species Survival Commission
Yacine Djibo
Speak Up Africa
Prof Cock van Oosterhout
University of East Anglia
IUCN SSC Conservation Genetics Specialist Group
Prof Ariel B. Lindner
INSERM
Prof Michael Archer
University of New South Wales
IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group
Dr Cholpisit Kiattisewee
MIT, SynBio4ALL Africa
Prof Raymond J. St. Leger
University of Maryland
Prof Omar Akbari
University of California San Diego
Dr Vibha Ahuja
Biotech Consortium India Limited
Prof Jackson Champer
Peking University
IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management
Prof Paulo Paes de Andrade
Universidade Federal de Pernambuco
Dr Megan Serr
Meredith College
Prof Hirotaka Kanuka
Jikei University School of Medicine
Prof Marcelo Jacobs-Lorena
Johns Hopkins School of Public Health
Prof Les Kaufman
Boston University
IUCN Species Survival Commission
Prof Beth Shapiro
University of California Santa Cruz
Dr Nikolai Windbichler
Imperial College London
Dr Correard Solenne
Wise Ancestors
Prof George K. Christophides
Imperial College London
Prof Michael J Smanski
University of Minnesota
Dr Poppy Pescod
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Dr Carly D. Kenkel
University of Southern California
Dr Amelie Wamba Ndongmo Regine
Global Fund Advocates Network
Prof Giuseppe Brundu
University of Sassari
IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group
Prof Brian Greenwood
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Prof Luigi Boitani
University of Rome Sapienza
IUCN Species Survival Commission
Dr Robert Friedman
J. Craig Venter Institute
IUCN Commission on Environmental, Economic and Social Policy
Francis Osiemo Omesa
Independent Law and Policy Consultant
Prof Ahmet Uludag
Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University
IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group
Prof Tony Nolan
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Dr Yash Paul Sharma
ICMR – Rajendra Memorial Research Institute of Medical Sciences
IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group
Dr Barney Long
Re:wild
IUCN Species Survival Commission
Prof Elena Bužan
University of Primorska
Prof Fred Gould
North Carolina State University
Dr William B. Karesh
One Health Concepts
IUCN Species Survival Commission
Dr Jonathan Kayondo
Uganda Virus Research Institute
Dr Liv Liberman
Revive & Restore
Dr Tierney Thys
National Geographic California Academy of Sciences
Prof Kevin M. Esvelt
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Kadiatou Sanogo
African Center for Excellence in Molecular Engineering
Dr Nourou Barry
North Carolina State University
Prof Sarah Davies
Boston University
Prof Quique Bassat
ISGlobal
Dr Wendy Ruscoe
CSIRO
Felista Simon Tarimo
Ifakara Health Institute
Dr Maciej Maselko
Macquarie University
Prof Charles Mbogo
Pan African Mosquito Control Association
Prof. Abdoulaye Diabaté
Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé
Dr Joshua Ang Xin De
University of York
Jill Furgurson
North Carolina State University
Ben Jacob Novak
Revive & Restore
Dr Eizadora T. Yu
University of the Philippines
Gregg Howald
Advanced Conservation Strategies
IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group
Prof Claudio Sillero
University of Oxford
IUCN SSC Canid Specialist Group
Matthew Lawson Noble
University of Waterloo
Dr Eric Marois
University of Strasbourg
Dr W. John Kress
Smithsonian Institution
IUCN Species Survival Commission
Dr Luke Gierus
University of Adelaide
Dr Robyn Raban
University of California San Diego
Dr Karen E Logan
Imperial College London
Dr Amadou Guindo
African Center for Excellence in Molecular Engineering
Prof Luke Alphey
University of York
Dr Lucia de Souza
PRRI, CES
IUCN Commission on Education and Communication
Jonathan Adams
Pangolin Words, Inc.
IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas
Prof Desiree Hautea
University of the Philippines Los Banos
Dr Paula A Castaño
Island Conservation
IUCN SSC Iguana Specialist Group
Prof Selim Cetiner
Sabanci University, PRRI
Prof Bojin Bojinov
Agricultural University of Plovdiv
Dr Karl Campbell
Re:wild
IUCN Species Survival Commission
Samoura Hatouma
African Center for Excellence in Molecular Engineering
Divine Dzokoto
Target Malaria
Dr Roberto Galizi
Keele University
Krystal Birungi
Uganda Virus Research Institute
IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management
Prof Kassahun Tesfaye
Addis Ababa University
Prof John Woinarski
Charles Darwin University
IUCN SSC Australasian Marsupial and Monotreme Specialist Group
Dr Alekos Simoni
Imperial College London
Dr Daouda Niare
African Center for Excellence in Molecular Engineering
Dr José A. Fernández Robledo
Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Prof Austin Burt
Imperial College London
Dr Daehee Lee
Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology
Dr Reynante L. Ordonio
Philippine Rice Research Institute
Dr Myung Hyun Noh
Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology (KRICT)
Sunyoung Yang
Hanwha Solutions
Dr Youngsoon Um
Korea Institute of Science and Technology
Prof Dongsoo Yang
Korea University
Dr Pil Kim
Hemolab Co.
Prof Claudia Emerson
Institute on Ethics & Policy for Innovation
McMaster University
Prof Jungil Choi
Ajou University
Sowon Lee
Hanwha Solutions
Dr Taekho Yang
HLB Genex
Prof Thomas O. Auer
University of Fribourg
Dr Abraham Manalo
University of the Philippines Diliman
Prof Johan Burger
Stellenbosch University
Prof Teklehaimanot Haileselassie
Addis Ababa University
Dr Young Hye Kim
Korea Basic Science Institute
Prof Cheulhee Jung
Korea University
Prof Jongoh Shin
Chonnam National University
The Rt. Hon. Sir Stephen O’Brien
Former Chair, Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC); Former Chair, Malaria Consortium
Prof Tae Seok Moon
J. Craig Venter Institute
Dr Seongjoon kang
Hanwha Solutions
Dr Sung Cheon Ko
Hanwha Solutions
Prof Hyungyu Lim
Inha University
Rosalie M. Ellasus
Global Farmer Network
Dr Yong Hee Han
Chonnam National University
Dr Bong Hyun Sung
Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology
Dr Hussein M. Abkallo
International Livestock Research Institute
Prof Sung Sun Yim
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Prof Amael Borzee
IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group
Dr Jérémy Bouyer
Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (Cirad)
Prof Marcel Tanner
Swiss Academies of Arts and Sciences
Dr Bakara Dicko
African Center for Excellence in Molecular Engineering
Prof Despina Symons
European Bureau for Conservation and Development
IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management
Kanghee Han
Hanwha Solutions
Dr Hamidou Maiga
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique et Technologique – Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (CNRST/IRSS)
Prof Gassama Yaye Kene
University Cheikh Anta Diop
Prof Tae Hyeon Yoo
Ajou University
Dr Guojun Sheng
Kumamoto University
Prof Mike McGrew
University of Edinburgh
Dr Michael N Dawson
University of California, Merced
Prof Dokyun Na
Chung-Ang University
Carla Tous Mayol
INSERM
Dr Roland Politan
The University of Western Australia
Dr Adama Gansane
Institut National de Santé Publique (INSP)
Ashu Fred Ayukarah
University of Yaoundé I
Prof Nicole Buan
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Milena Milovanovic
ELiS labs, Sorbonne University / Paris Cité University
Prof Nils Jonathan Helmuth Averesch
University of Florida
Fayçal Ezechiel Sifoma Sarembe
Nazi Boni University
Marmee Manack
Revive & Restore
Sunjae Lee
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology
Dr Charles Mugoya
Target Malaria
Jirapat Thaweechuen
tomorrow.Lab
Aishwarya Mitra
Brown University
Dr Aditi Mankad
CSIRO
IUCN CEC-SSC Behaviour Change Inter-Commission
Prof Haseong Kim
Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB)
Boram Yim
Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB)
Sally Wren
IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group
Dr Muhammad Saad Ahmed
National University of Medical Sciences Rawalpindi
Dr Jorgelina Marino
University of Oxford
IUCN Species Survival Commission
Dr Rebecca Mackelprang
Engineering Biology Research Consortium
IUCN Climate Crisis Commission
Dr Emily Aurand
Engineering Biology Research Consortium
Félicité Ws. Nikiema
American Corner, Burkina Faso
Reine Traore
Burkina Faso
Wamikene Sibiri Soma
Burkina Faso
Prof Andrew Baker
University of Miami
Dr Catherine Collins
Imperial College London
Kasitipun Saengpitak
Mahidol University
Dr Christopher Lean
Macquarie University
Dr Derric Nimmo
Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC)
Dr Katie Barnhill
Genetic Engineering and Society Center, North Carolina State University
Prof Gregory Charles Lanzaro
University of California
Prof Rob Knight
University of California San Diego
Dr Alex Dehgan
Conservation X Labs
Dr Paul Bunje
Conservation X Labs
Prof Sean Gibbons
Institute for Systems Biology
Prof Drew Endy
Stanford University
Dr Emily Kunselman
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
Prof Christopher Dupont
J. Craig Venter Institute
Prof Karsten Zengler
University of California San Diego
Prof Janet K Jansson
United States
Dr Samson Nyasha Ncube Munyuki
Eastville Chemakuti Mountain Sustainable Ecotourism Development
Joshua Tran
University of California San Diego
Yassin Somoue Chafik
iGEM
Prof Philippos Aris Papathanos
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Dr Chad Gallinat
Conservation X Labs
Dr Rufus Ebegba
Rufus Ebegba Centre For Leadership and Environmental Sustainability
Dr SK Sajan
Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology
IUCN SSC Horseshoe Crab Specialist Group
Dr Rakesh Mishra
Tata Institute for Genetics and Society
Dr Irméan Moussa Savadogo
National Integrated Vector Management (IVM) Platform, Burkina Faso
Prof Immo Kleinschmidt
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Prof Maxwell J Scott
North Carolina State University
Dr Anthony A. James
University of California
Prof Ethan Bier
University of California San Diego
Prof Chris Somerville
University of California Berkeley
Dr Aysegul Birand
The University of Adelaide
Dr Seon Lee
Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology
Tim Allard
Australian Wildlife Conservancy
Prof George Dimopoulos
Johns Hopkins University
Dr Roberto Biello
University of Ferrara
Dr Nicole Page
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Prof Philipp Messer
Cornell University
Prof Aggrey Ambali
Hub for Development Research and Advisory Services (HDRAS)
Dr Kevin Oh
CSIRO
Dr Valentino Gantz
Stealth Biotech
Prof Piet van der Meer
Ghent University
Dr Francis Laurence Lemckert
Australian Museum
Dr Brian B. Tarimo
Ifakara Health Institute
Prof Ham Le Huy
Agricultural Genetics Institute
Dr Aaron Yip
Duke University
Dr Laura Fasola
Fundación Macá Tobiano
Jill Fisher
Keweenaw Land Trust
Krista Laforest
University of North Carolina Wilmington
Prof Michael F Antolin
Colorado State University
Prof Karl David Castillo
The University of North Carolina
Dr Kevin Roth
MVZ Gefäßchirurgie und Labormedizin
Prof Mauro de Freitas Rebelo
Bio Bureau Biotecnologia
Dr Martin Reich
Eco-progressive Network
Dr Moritz Peter Fritschle
University of Osnabrück
Dr Yasha Rohwer
Oregon Tech
Dr David Spencer
Eco-Progressive Network
Dr Margareta Hellmann
Eco-Progressive Network
Karolina Lisslö Gylfe
WePlanet
Prof Natalie Laibach
Hochschule Rhein-Waal (HSRW)
Prof Peter Robertson
Newcastle University
Dr Tim Harvey-Samuel
Keele University
Dr Leena Tripathi
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA/ CGIAR)
Dr Mara Lawniczak
Wellcome Sanger Institute
Saffron Mackey
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Grégoire Sawadogo
Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS)
Dr Ashley Hall
Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine
Matt Endrizzi
Comparative Biospheromics Network
Şebnem Karakurt
Goldman Sachs
Dr Bruce Webber
The University of Western Australia; Bush Heritage Australia
Dr Katie Willis
Imperial College London
Dr Petra Korlevic
Wellcome Sanger Institute
Rob Brewster
Invasive Species Council
Dr Graham Small
Innovative Vector Control Consortium (IVCC)
Dickson Wilson Lwetoijera
Ifakara Health Institute
Kigozi Timothy
Uganda Virus Research Institute
Yasmin Almaskari
Nautica Environmental Associates
IUCN CCF
Kelly Suttles
Environmental Defense Fund
Lakamy Sylla
African Center for Excellence in Molecular Engineering
Thomas Richards
Imperial College London
Danspaid Mabuka
University of California, Davis
Dr Richard Musgrove
Musgrove Communications
Ryan Phelan
Revive & Restore
Dr Paul Scofield
University of Canterbury
Dr Rose Upton
The University of Newcastle
Nicholas Woedem Dzakpasu
Target Malaria
Dr Karen Siu Ting
Queen's University Belfast
IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group
Prof Chris Creevey
Queen’s University Belfast
Dr Daryl Gohl
University of Minnesota
Dr Quentin Andrès
Kasetsart University
Dr Marko Petek
National Institute of Biology
Kai Brynjar Hagen
Norwegian Medical Association
Vasili Balios
UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Silke Fuchs
Imperial College London
Elizabeth Jane Morris Abson
Morris Life Science Consulting
Juan Ignacio Pettenazza
CONICET
Abdoulaye Barry
Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé
Revocatus Musyangi Musiba
Ifakara Health Institute
Rita Mwima
Uganda Virus Research Institute
Dr Kafuruki Mwigirwa Shubis
Ifakara Health Institute
Esayas Embaye Kidane
Mekelle University
Dr Ann Goeth
Meriden School
IUCN SSC Galliformes Specialist Group