Opening Ceremony, 2025 IUCN World Conservation Congress, Abu Dhabi
This week, the global conservation community took a decisive step forward in Abu Dhabi, voting by a strong majority (88%) to adopt Motion 87, the IUCN Policy on Synthetic Biology, while narrowly defeating Motion 133, which called for a blanket moratorium on genetically modified wild species.
This outcome represents a pivotal moment for conservation. As we face a biodiversity crisis that threatens over a million species with extinction, the conservation community has chosen hope over restriction, evidence over fear, and collaboration over division. This vote demonstrates a decision to expand rather than limit our options—to keep innovation on the table.
History, Process, and Stakes
Synthetic biology: A conservation tool worth exploring? | Panel hosted by the Outreach Network for Gene Drive Research
Revive & Restore staff members attended this year’s World Conservation Congress knowing that the results of the two motions would impact our work, and that of our research and funding partners around the globe. The stakes for conservation’s future were high: the passage of Motion 87 would be a strong positive signal and the rejection of Motion 133 would be mission critical.
Our own history with this debate goes back to 2016. Revive & Restore was encouraged to participate in the IUCN Task Force on Synthetic Biology and Biodiversity Conservation, established in 2018 following a resolution passed at the 2016 World Conservation Congress in Hawaii. Since the Task Force’s establishment almost a decade ago, its members have navigated intense opposition from a small group of anti-GMO activists whose original focus on the food industry expanded to target conservation biotechnology. Motion 133 represented their latest attempt to halt innovation in conservation, and the broader conservation community responded: our biodiversity crisis is too urgent, and the potential of these tools too promising, to restrict research now.
In contrast, Motion 87 was drafted and refined over four years through an unprecedented process of transparency and collaboration, including IUCN’s first-ever Citizens Assembly, two rounds of all-IUCN peer review that generated over 800 comments, and extensive discussions right up to the day of the vote. Even as opposition to Motion 87 made their voices heard, advocates for innovation remained united and strong in their efforts to ensure every voting delegate understood what was at stake.
Embracing Intended Consequences
The adoption of Motion 87 aligns IUCN with international frameworks already established in other key fora, including the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Cartagena Protocol. It also resonates deeply with the philosophy Revive & Restore has championed through our Intended Consequences Initiative.
When Revive & Restore launched the Intended Consequences Initiative in spring 2021, we challenged the conservation community to move beyond fear of the unknown and work toward the future we want for biodiversity. Rather than asking “What about the unintended consequences?”—the question that had dominated biotechnology discussions for years—we asked: “What intended consequences are we working to achieve?”
This week’s vote demonstrates that the global conservation community is embracing that same philosophy. Motion 87 asks the field to define conservation goals first, then evaluate whether specific biotechnologies can help reach them—always with rigorous science, transparency, and case-by-case assessment. When conservationists aim for the future we want rather than the future we fear, integrative biotechnologies, including synthetic biology, can deliver results. Thanks to the passage of Motion 87, the question is no longer whether we should use these tools—it’s a mandate to responsibly scale innovative approaches to help the thousands of species that need our help today.
Witnessing History in Abu Dhabi
Liv and Elizabeth representing Revive & Restore
For Dr. Liv Lieberman and Dr. Elizabeth Bennett of Revive & Restore, watching the vote unfold in Abu Dhabi was transformative. Over 10,000 conservation leaders, scientists, policymakers, monarchs, and government officials from every continent gathered not just to debate, but to genuinely listen to each other with empathy, curiosity, and inspiration. Jane Goodall had been scheduled for the opening plenary, and her recent passing cast a shadow over the gathering. But speakers and participants transformed that grief into something powerful—honoring her with tributes about hope and action that infused the entire Congress with renewed purpose.
Throughout the Congress, the spirit of partnership, respectful collaboration, and trust in science and humanity felt palpable—a testament to what becomes possible when people from different nations, disciplines, and perspectives come together with a genuine commitment to listen and learn from one another.
The Path Forward
Closing forum featuring IUCN Youth Leaders
The result of Motion 87 is a thoughtful, science-based framework that embraces case-by-case evaluation of synthetic biology for conservation. The policy recognizes that governments must make decisions about synthetic biology that reflect their unique national priorities and contexts, while maintaining rigorous standards for scientific evidence and risk assessment.
For Revive & Restore’s funded projects, the IUCN policy signals several critical principles for conservation moving forward:
Biotechnology is not a stand-alone panacea. Revive & Restore supports early-stage, proof-of-concept projects that seek to solve wildlife conservation challenges that lack viable solutions with conventional conservation tools alone and acknowledges the need for integration with existing conservation efforts.
Evidence must guide decisions. Revive & Restore invests in rigorous laboratory development, and any field trial conducted will be carefully monitored to determine the safety and efficacy of applied research.
Options preserve hope. Conservation faces unprecedented challenges, which can lead to passivity and inertia. Innovative research, in contrast, brings hope at the very moment when the conservation community needs maximum creativity and investment in diverse solutions.
As our team left Abu Dhabi, the message was clear: conservation’s future will be built not by limiting possibilities, but by pursuing them with rigor, transparency, and courage.
