Online-Discussion: Gene Drives – Protecting People and Nature through Genetic Extermination?

https://youtu.be/T5HfGYv9laE   Ricarda Steinbrecher, geneticist and board member of the European Network for Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility (ENSSER), emphasized that it is difficult or even impossible to make reliable predictions about the effects of a future application of Gene Drives, especially at the current time. After all, organisms are released which then…

300,000 EU citizens call on German environmental minister Steffi Lemke: Stop Gene Drives!

Berlin, 31 May 2022 - Almost 300,000 citizens of the European Union are calling for a global moratorium on the first field release of genetically modified gene drive organisms. The associations Save Our Seeds, the Aurelia Foundation and the Munich Environmental Institute, which are part of the European Stop Gene Drive campaign, handed over a petition to this effect to the German environmental…

Survey: EU citizens reject genetic engineering of wild species with Gene Drives

Should humanity release genetically engineered gene drive organisms into nature? The response of a majority of citizens in eight European countries is: “No, the risks are too high”. This first opinion poll on the subject shows high levels of rejection (46% - 70%) and very low levels of support (7% - 16%) for the use of Gene Drive technology in the environment. The survey amongst nearly 9.000…

Interview with Dr. Andreas Wulf

Gene drive technology carries high risks. Yet it is being promoted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as a solution to malaria. On the occasion of World Malaria Day, the Stop Gene Drives campaign is launching a project that presents different perspectives on how to combat malaria. In this interview with Dr Andreas Wulf, physician and global health officer at Medico International, we…

IUCN: Die Diskussion um Gene Drives

Die Diskussion um Gene Drives in der Weltnaturschutzunion (IUCN) Angesichts der Möglichkeit, eingeschleppte invasive Arten mittels Gene Drive aus empfindlichen Ökosystemen zu entfernen, diskutiert auch die International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), auch Weltnaturschutzunion genannt, seit Ende 2015 über den Umgang mit dieser Technologie. Bei ihrer Mitgliederversammlung im…

European Parliament calls for ban on gene drive technology

Report on the EU' Biodiversity Strategy for 2030: Precaution prevails 9.06.2021, Berlin -The European Parliament yesterday confirmed it‘s precautionary stance towards the use of a new genetic engineering technology called gene drive. In it´s report on the EU’s Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, adopted at the European Parliament’s plenary on 08.06.2021, Parliamentarians demand that „no releases…

COP16: Precaution and integrity at stake in the guidance materials on risk assessment of LMOs containing engineered gene drives

As participants in the 16th Cnference of the Parties (COP 16) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), we will be sharing insights through articles authored by members of the CBD-Alliance’s Working Group on Synthetic Biology, to which we belong. Key topics of discussion at the Cali conference include synthetic biology and the risk assessment of gene drives. For more detailed…

SBSTTA 26: Ensuring good governance of synthetic biology

As participants in the 26th Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical, and Technological Advice (SBSTTA 26) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), we will be sharing insights through articles authored by members of the CBD-Alliance's Working Group on Synthetic Biology, to which we belong. Key topics of discussion at the Nairobi conference include synthetic biology and the risk…

What happened to Gene Drives at COP15 of the UN Convention on Biodiversity?

What happened to Gene Drives at COP15 of the UN Convention on Biodiversity? In December 2022, States from all around the world gathered in snowy Montreal to discuss the future of biodiversity protection and conservation until 2030. What did they have to say about new technologies such as gene drives? The Post-2020 Biodiversity Framework (GBF) has been often referred as a ‘breakthrough’…