Rapid Synthetic Biology Developments Necessitate “Horizon Scanning”

Parties to the CBD have concluded that the rapid and fast-paced developments in the field of synthetic biology and their potential adverse effects need to be anticipated, monitored and assessed. […]

Reboot on GMO Risk Assessment Work Under Biosafety Protocol

Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety, at a subsidiary meeting in Montreal, have breathed some life back into the risk assessment work that is critical to the implementation of the Protocol. […]

Biosafety Protocol Stalled on Risk Assessment

Further work on biosafety risk assessment which is a key pillar under the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety has received a setback at the UN Biodiversity Conference […]

Report of Scientific Conference Taking Stock – 20 Years of GM Crops – 40 Years of ‘Genetic Engineering’

The report of the recent Scientific Conference, Taking Stock – 20 years of GM crops – 40 years of ‘genetic engineering’, which was held in Mexico City, 1-2 December 2016. […]

Future Work on Risk Assessment Under the Biosafety Protocol Threatened

At the meeting of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety in Cancun, Mexico, the continued work on risk assessment under the Protocol is under threat. […]

160 Global Groups Call for Moratorium on New Genetic Extinction

A wide spectrum of 160 civil society organisations and networks have called for a global moratorium on the controversial genetic extinction technology known as “gene drives”. […]

UN Biodiversity Conference to Debate Synthetic Biology, Financial Resources Mobilization

The issue of synthetic biology, which cross cuts the Convention on Biological Diversity, Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing, will be among the most hotly debated issue at the UN Biodiversity Conference. […]

TWN Briefings for UN Biodiversity Conference #3

This briefing discusses what Parties to the CBD and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety can do in order to advance the work on risk assessment of synthetic biology at the upcoming UN Biodiversity Conference in Cancún. […]

TWN Briefings for UN Biodiversity Conference #2

This briefing discusses unintentional transboundary movement and emergency measures, as well as the related issues of detection and identification of LMOs, making recommendations for what Parties can do at COP-MOP8 on these issues. […]

TWN Briefings for UN Biodiversity Conference #1

Synthetic biology is transforming access to genetic resources. This paper explains the implications of genetic sequence data and calls on Parties to the CBD to take action to ensure that benefit-sharing is not undermined. […]