No “Undo Button” for Nature: IUCN Must Say No to Engineered Wild Species

Abu Dhabi, 8 October 2025 – The world’s most influential nature conservation organisation will decide whether to promote genetic engineering as a tool for nature conservation at this year’s IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Two motions are being considered by IUCN members: one that would position synthetic biology as a tool for nature conservation, subject to case-by-case decision-making, and another calling for a global moratorium on releasing genetically engineered wild species until environmental impacts, regulatory gaps, as well as ethical and cultural concerns are addressed.

Proposed genetic engineering projects range from immunising threatened species against diseases, to using gene drives to eradicate invasive species, to the so-called revival of extinct iconic animals, such as the dodo, the dire wolf, or Tasmanian tiger, through genetic modification of existing species.