In decision 16/21, the Conference of the Parties requested the Executive Secretary to commission an independent scientific study compiling and summarizing existing scientific studies, public research and development funding needs and priorities, as well as research road maps on synthetic biology applications that are relevant to achieving the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, in particular its Targets 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13 and 17.

In response to this request, the Secretariat issued notification 2025-070 calling for expressions of interest for the independent, scientific study on synthetic biology and held an informal webinar to explain the process. Expressions of interest were received from researchers and teams of researchers from governmental agencies, research and academic institutions and non-governmental organizations.

Following a selection process, the Brazilian Association of Bioinnovation (Associação Brasileira de Bioinovação), SENAI Institute of Innovation in Biodiversity and Circular Economy (Instituto SENAI de Inovação em Biodiversidade e Economia Circular) and SENAI Institute of Innovation in Biosynthetic and Fibers (Instituto SENAI de Inovação em Biossintéticos e Fibras) were selected to conduct the study.

The first draft of the study will be made available for peer review tentatively in March 2026. The final study will be made available for the meeting of the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Synthetic Biology (19 to 22 May 2026).