Nate Rott

OK, so the IUCN's World Conservation Congress only happens every four years and not to get too wonky and bureaucratic.

But the IUCN, for like anyone who doesn't know what it is, it basically uses the best available science to set conservation standards for the world to use.

So Sue Lieberman, the vice president of international policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society, was at this meeting in Abu Dhabi last week.

And she says it's important to know that the IUCN does not have any regulatory authorities, like it can't force governments to do anything.

And last week they voted on two proposals that directly addressed synthetic biology.

One which called for a moratorium on releasing any genetically modified species into the wild.

And to be clear, it'd be like a temporary ban.

So advocates for it, like European biologist Ricarda Steinbrecher, more or less described it as kind of like pumping the brakes on these new technologies until we better understand them.

Because she says, you know, nature, as we all know, is in a super vulnerable place right now.

And there are so many examples where well-intentioned human interventions have gone wrong.

There are so many times that people introduced an animal purposely or accidentally and sometimes well-intentioned, and it upset the existing ecosystem.

And Riccardo says when it comes to synthetic biology, there's a lot of hype around it.

Yeah, so the other proposal basically says, OK, like if conservationists are going to explore using these technologies, here's how we should do it.

But Sue Lieberman says even that was controversial at the recent meeting.

That scientists like Anthony Waddell, who we heard from earlier, are already doing this research.

Scientists are looking right now at how to genetically modify coral to be more resistant to hotter temperatures in the water.

How to alter trees like the American chestnut to be more resistant to disease.

So from her point of view, the horse is out of the barn.

And the fear I heard from people who opposed this moratorium, people like Sue, was that it would make it harder for researchers to fund research in this area.

Here's Ryan Phelan, the co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Revive and Restore, which provides funding for synthetic biology conservation efforts.