Through COP decision 14/19, the Conference of the Parties has requested the Executive Secretary to further pursue cooperation with other organizations, conventions and initiatives on issues related to synthetic biology, including the exchange of experiences and information.
In response to this request, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity in collaboration with other international organizations organized the webinar “Synthetic biology governance and cooperation opportunities”.
The webinar aimed to facilitate discussions and understanding on the perspective of various organizations in relation to synthetic biology as well as to share information on how synthetic biology is being considered through different lenses. To achieve this, the webinar consisted of two parts: one composed of brief presentations from representatives of international organizations sharing information on their activities related to synthetic biology, and a panel section where the representatives of the various organizations had the opportunity to answer questions and interact with a view to further discuss opportunities available to foster collaboration within the field.
The webinar had the participation of representatives from the World Health Organization, The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, The Biological Weapons Convention, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The webinar was moderated by a representative from UNEP.
This webinar was open to everyone interested in understanding how synthetic biology is being addressed by different international organizations. The webinar was recorded and made available through the Biosafety Clearing-House to accommodate those who were not able to take part. Likewise, the Secretariat also opened the opportunity for those that were not able to participate live, to send their questions to synbio@cbd.int by 1 November 2021.
The webinar took place on Tuesday, 2 November 2021 from 08:00 AM to 10:00 AM EDT (GMT -4) and was hosted through the GoToWebinar platform.
A recording of the webinar is available to view at CBD's YouTube channel:
List of resources and weblinks referred to in the Webinar on Synthetic Biology Governance and Cooperation Opportunities may be found below: