Cancun, Mexico – This week, international conservation and environmental leaders are calling on governments at the 2016 UN Convention on Biodiversity to establish a moratorium on the controversial genetic extinction technology called gene drives.
Gene drives, developed through new gene-editing techniques- are designed to force a particular genetically engineered trait to spread through an entire wild population – potentially changing entire species or even causing deliberate extinctions. The statement urges governments to put in place an urgent, global moratorium on the development and release of the new technology, which poses serious and potentially irreversible threats to biodiversity, as well as national sovereignty, peace and food security.Over 160 civil society organisations from six continents have joined the call. Among them were environmental organizations including Friends of the Earth International; International Union of Food Workers representing over 10 million workers in 127 countries ; organizations representing millions of small-scale famers around the world, such as the La Via Campesina International and the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements; the international indigenous peoples’ organization Tebtebba; scientist coalitions including European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility and Unión de Científicos Comprometidos con la Sociedad (Mexico); as well as ETC Group and Third World Network.
“We lack the knowledge and understanding to release gene drives into the environment – we don’t even know what questions to ask. To deliberately drive a species to extinction has major ethical, social and environmental implications,” says Dr. Steinbrecher, representing the Federation of German Scientists. “It is essential that we pause, to allow the scientific community, local communities and society at large to debate and reflect. We can’t allow ourselves to be led by a novel technique. In the meantime, a moratorium is essential.”
“These genetic extinction technologies are false solutions to our conservation challenges,” said Dana Perls of Friends of the Earth. “We want to support truly sustainable and community driven conservation efforts. Gene drives could be co-opted by agribusiness and military interests. We need a moratorium on irreversible and irresponsible technologies such as gene drives.”
“Gene drives will be one of the fiercest debates at CBD this year,” says Jim Thomas of ETC Group. “Gene drives are advancing far too quickly in the real world, and so far are unregulated. There are already hundreds of millions of dollars pouring into gene drive development, and even reckless proposals to release gene drives within next four years.”
“The CBD is the premier international treaty for protecting biodiversity and life on earth from new threats,” said Lim Li Ching of Third World Network. “It is within the mandate of the CBD to adopt this moratorium, and countries that are party to this agreement must act now to avoid serious or irreversible harm.”
In view of the significant ecological, cultural and societal threats posed by genetically-engineered gene drives, including threats to biodiversity, national sovereignty, peace and food security, we the undersigned call upon governments at the 13th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, in accordance with the precautionary principle, to put in place a moratorium on
1) any further technical development and experimental application of gene drives, and
2) environmental release of genetically-engineered gene drives.
For more information please see: www.synbiowatch.org/gene-drives
SIGNATORIES INTERNATIONAL and REGIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
African Biodiversity Network
Amigos de la Tierra de América Latina y
el Caribe (ATALC)
ECOROPA (Europe)
European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility – ENSSER
ETC Group
Friends of the Earth Africa
Friends of the Earth Europe
Friends of the Earth International
Global Forest Coalition
GMO-Free Regions (Europe)
GRAIN
Heinrich Boell Foundation
International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements – IFOAM
International Federation of Organic
Agriculture Movements EU – IFOAM EU
International Forum on Globalization
La Via Campesina International
Millennium Institute
Mothers Across the World
(International)
Navdanya International
Participatory Ecological Land Use
Management Association – PELUM
(East and Southern Africa)
Red por una América Latina Libre de
Transgénicos – RALLT (América Latina)
The International Union of Food,
Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant,
Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’
Associations – IUF
The Pan African Institute for Consumer
Citizenship and Development –
CICODEV Africa
Tebtebba – Indigenous Peoples’
International Centre for Policy Research
and Education
Third World Network
World Rainforest Movement
AFRICA
African Center for Biosafety – ACB
(South Africa)
African Centre for Biodiversity – Acbio
Action for Sustainable Development –
ASUD (Malawi)
Biowatch South Africa
Commons for EcoJustice – EcoJustice
(Malawi)
Earthlife Africa Durban (South Africa)
Farm-Saved Seeds Network – FASSNET
(Malawi)
Food Sovereignty Ghana
Green Living Movement – GLM
(Zambia)
Growth Partners Africa – GPA
Health of Mother Earth Foundation –
HOMEF (Nigeria)
Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre
(Zambia)
Kenya Food Rights Alliance – KEFRA
(Kenya)
NeverEndingFood (Malawi)
Participatory Ecological Land Use
Management Association – PELUM
(Kenya)
Tanzania Alliance for Biodiversity
(TABIO)
Young Christian in Action for
Development – YCAD (Togo)
Zambia Alliance for Agroecology and
Biodiversity Conservation – ZAABC
ASIA
Consumers Union of Japan
Go Organic Davao City (Philippines)
Green Convergence for Safe Food,
Healthy Environment, Sustainable
Economy – Green Convergence
(Philippines)
Interface Development
Interventions, Inc. – IDIS, Inc
Kauban Movement (Davao City,
Philippines)
KONPHALINDO (National
Consortium for Forest and Natural
Conservation in Indonesia)
Luna Legal Resource Center for
Women and Children, Inc.
(Philippines)
Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa
Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura – MASIPAG
(Philippines)
Mamayan Ayaw sa Aerial
Spraying (Philippines)
No GMO Campaign (Japan)
Philippine Misereor Inc. – Davao
Region Cluster
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Roots for Equity (Pakistan)
Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives
for Community Empowerment –
SEARICE (Philippines)
Sustainable Davao Movement
(Davao City, Philippines)
Tuburan Institute (Davao City,
Philippines)
EUROPE
Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche
Landwirtschaft (AbL) e.V. (Family
Farmers Organisation) (Germany)
Attac France
Biofuelwatch (UK)
Bund Ökologische
Lebensmittelwirtschaft e.V. – BÖLW
(German Umbrella Organization of
Organic Farmers, Processors, and
Retailers) (Germany)
Bundesverband Naturkost
Naturwaren (BNN) e.V. (Germany)
Corporate Europe Observatory
(CEO)
CRIIGEN (Committee for
Independent Research and
Information on Genetic
Engineering) (France)
Critical Scientists Switzerland – CSS
Ecologistas en Acción (Spain)
Federation Rhône-Alpes de
Protection de la Nature – FRAPNA
France Nature Environnement
Friends of the Earth France (Amis
de la Terre)
Friends of the Earth Germany
(BUND)
Friends of the Earth Norway
Friends of the Earth Russia
Friends of the Siberian Forests
Gen Ethisches Netzwerk – GeN
(Germany)
GeneWatch (UK)
Groupe International d’Etudes
Transdisciplinaires – GIET (France)
GMWatch (UK)
Initiative for GE-Free Seeds and
Breeding (Germany)
L’Association Sciences Citoyennes
(France)
La Confédération Paysanne (France)
Pan-Africanist International
(Belgium)
Pôle RISQUES/ RISK NETWORK
(France)
Réseau Semences Paysannes
(France)
Schweizer Allianz Gentechfrei – SAG
(Switzerland)
Save Our Seeds (Germany)
Scientists for Global Responsibility
(UK)
TestBiotech (EU)
Interessengemeinschaft gegen die
Nachbaugesetze und
Nachbaugebühren (Germany)
junge Arbeitsgemeinschaft
bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (jAbL)
What Next Forum (Sweden)
LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN
Acción Ecologica (Ecuador)
Acción por la Biodiversidad
(Argentina)
Asociación de Consumidores
Orgánicos (México)
Asociación Centro Nacional Salud,
Ambiente y Trabajo – CENSAT Agua
Vida (Colombia)
BASE-IS, Paraguay
Centro de Estudios para el Cambio
en el Campo Mexicano – Ceccam
(México)
Centro de Protección a la Naturaleza
de Santa Fe (Argentina)
CENTRO ECOLÓGICO (Brasil)
CESTA Amigos de la Tierra (El
Salvador)
Colectivo por la autonomía – COA
(México)
Confederación Nacional de Mujeres
Rurales e Indígenas – CONAMURI
(Paraguay)
Coordinadora Nacional Agraria de
Colombia – CNA (Columbia)
FDCL – Center for Research and
Documentation (Chile/Germany)
Fundación Solón (Bolivia)
Grupo Carta de Belém (Brasil)
Grupo Semillas (Colombia)
Guerreros Verdes A.C. (México)
Movimiento Camponês Popular –
MCP
Movimiento de Mujeres Campesinas
– MMC (Brasil)
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Movimiento de Pequeños
Agricultores – MPA (Brasil)
MST (Movimento dos Trabalhadores
Rurais Sem Terra) (Brasil)
Plataforma Ñamoseke Monsanto,
Paraguay,
Red de Guardianes de Semillas
(Ecuador)
Red Semillas Libres de Colombia
REDES-AT (Uruguay)
Sociedade Brasileira de Etnobiologia
e Etnoecologia (Brazilian Society of
Ethnobiology and Ethnoecology)
UNORCA, Unión de organizaciones
campesinas regionales autónomas,
Mexico
Unión de Científicos Comprometidos
con la Sociedad – UCCS (México)
Vía Campesina Brasil
Red de Coordinación en
Biodiversidad (Costa Rica)
FECON, Federación Ecologista de
Costa Rica
NORTH AMERICA
Alliance for Humane Biotechnology
(AHB)
Biodynamic Association (BDA)
Canadian Biotechnology Action
Network (CBAN)
Canadian Friends Service Committee
(Quakers)
Center for Food Safety – CFS (USA)
Center for Genetics and Society (USA)
Center for International Environmental
Law – CIEL (USA)
Community Alliance for Global Justice
– CAGJ (USA)
BioScience Resource Project (USA)
Earth in Brackets (USA)
Fair World Project (USA)
Food & Water Watch (USA)
Food Democracy Now! (USA)
Food Secure Canada
Friends of the Earth US
Global Justice Ecology Project (USA)
GMO Inside/Green America (USA)
International Centre for Technology
Assessment – ICTA (USA)
Institute for Agriculture and Trade
Policy (USA)
Institute for Responsible Technology
(USA)
Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners
Association (MOFGA)
Moms Across America (USA)
Movement Generation (USA)
National Farmers Union (Canada)
National Family Farm Coalition (USA)
Organic Consumers Association (USA)
Organics Seed Growers and Trade
Association – OSGATA (USA)
Pesticide Action Network North
America
Rural Advancement Fund International
– USA (RAFI-USA)
The Greenhorns (USA)
The Nature Institute (USA)
USC Canada
Vigilance OGM (Quebec, Canada)
Winnemem Wintu Tribe (USA)
OCEANIA
FOODwatch (Western Australia)
Friends of the Earth Australia
Gene Ethics (Australia)
GM Cropwatch (Australia)
GM-Free Australia Alliance Inc. –
GMFAA
The Institute of Health and
Environmental Research (Australia)
MADGE Australia Inc.
Pesticide Action Group (Western
Australia)
SA Genetic Food Information
Network – SAGFIN (Australia)
Save Our Trees, Western Australia
