How can local communities continue to benefit from wildlife if neither tourism nor trophy hunting are viable options? Over the past 30 years, tourism has funded conservation activities in many countries, especially in the wildlife rich countries in Africa. Photographic tourism and trophy hunting have provided significant benefits to rural communities who share their land with wildlife.
However, all forms of tourism are extremely vulnerable to social, economic or political instability and changes in the international market. The shock to the tourism sector caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the vulnerability of a conservation model based primarily on tourism.
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To prepare for a future in which communities might no longer be able to derive benefits from tourism, the Luc Hoffmann Institute is working with partners to identify, incubate and promote innovative ways of providing communities with income from wildlife, while managing their natural resources sustainably and improving their collective wellbeing.
Melissa de Kock, Senior Advisor at WWF-Norway for Conservation, Climate and Communities, suggests that the Luc Hoffmann Institute incubate an idea based on her work supporting community conservation in southern Africa. With climate change impacting wildlife and shocks to the tourism industry caused by disease outbreaks, it is becoming more urgent to “look beyond tourism and hunting for community benefits” to retain communities’ commitment and tolerance for wildlife management.
May 2019
The Luc Hoffmann Institute and WWF-Norway commission a study by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Sustainable Use and Livelihoods (IUCN SULi) network to explore models for supporting wildlife conservation on community lands with a focus on southern and eastern Africa.
Incubation
September 2019
The Luc Hoffmann Institute and WWF-Norway engage with and challenge innovators directly at the Business of Conservation Conference in Africa. Ideas and leads are gathered to include in an upcoming analysis publication.
October 2019
The Luc Hoffmann Institute publishes a thought piece by WWF-Norway’s Melissa de Kock about her work with the institute on finding and nurturing future business models for community-based conservation, with an initial focus on Africa.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute, the African Leadership University’s School of Wildlife Conservation and the WWF Regional Office for Africa launch the ‘Beyond Tourism Innovation Challenge’ to reach out to new thinkers, tangential sectors and especially young innovators.
‘GOING BEYOND TOURISM IN AFRICA: Diversifying Community Livelihoods from Wildlife’ webinar is held, featuring an informational session about the innovation challenge and live Q&A, as well as short inspirational talks by Alice Ruhweza (Director, WWF Regional Office for Africa), Gautam Shah (Founder, Internet of Elephants) and Fred Swaniker (CEO and Founder of the African Leadership Group).
More than 300 applications were submitted to the innovation challenge by individuals and teams from across the continent of Africa and around the world. There were 54 nationalities represented (a majority of them in Africa), and a vast age range from 16 to 87.
11 December 2020
A total of 15 winners of the Innovation Challenge are announced after a rigorous judging process involving a review by a diverse panel.
The Covid-19 pandemic has created multiple disruptions to the way society works: the near total suspension of global travel is one of these. Where global tourism revenues have been helping to deliver biodiversity conservation and local livelihoods, the pandemic has dramatically altered the trajectory of many local economies.
It is no exaggeration to say that the collapse of wildlife tourism threatens to compromise decades of development and conservation work in nature-rich and emblematic parts of Africa. It has also made the frailty of nature conservation and livelihoods dependent on nature-based tourism increasingly apparent. How can we regain what we have lost while building a more resilient future, looking beyond tourism, for people and nature conservation in Africa?
Luc Hoffmann Institute Advisory Council member Bill Adams writes a piece in his Thinking like a human blog called “COVID-19 and Conservation”, which questions how conservation will be impacted and reimagined in the aftermath of the pandemic.
On May 20th, the Luc Hoffmann Institute holds an online convening with more than 70 interested parties, to engage with the idea of a Collaborative Platform to address tourism systems in Africa impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Following this, the institute mobilises 120+ external key actors in personal consultations.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute invests USD 175,000 into the design process for the Collaborative Platform. The institute works with WWF-US, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and a range of stakeholders to develop a Medium-sized Project (MSP) proposal for funding to support the further development.
July 2020
USD 1.9m funding is secured from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for implementation by WWF-US. WWF-US becomes the formal executing agency for the grant, but consultations are underway with African-based organisations to identify a host that will provide the Secretariat and lead the Platform.
August 2020
The Luc Hoffmann Institute, in collaboration with WWF-US, designs a detailed concept for submission to the GEF for consideration. This intensive process involves the establishment of a clear theory of change and a draft schematic plan to implement the whole initiative. Additional stakeholder consultations take place to develop and strengthen the Collaborative Platform.
September 2020
Commitments of USD 5,269,281 in co-financing received from: the MAVA Foundation, African Safari Foundation, Fauna & Flora International (FFI), the Frankfurt Zoological Society, Maliasili, Resource Africa, Royal African Safaris, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). This funding serves to immediately unlock the GEF-allocated funds.
October – December 2020
The Luc Hoffmann Institute and WWF-US work on the project document for the GEF, in this final stage of incubation for the Collaborative Platform. WWF-US submits this to the GEF in December 2020. The WWF Regional Office for Africa is confirmed as the host secretariat for the project.
Aspiration
The goal is to amplify existing fundraising efforts and support the activities of community stakeholders who are the custodians of the landscapes and wildlife, and upon whom successful tourism activities depend.
COVID-19 and Conservation A March 2020 blog post by Luc Hoffmann Institute Advisory Council member Bill Adams in his series Thinking like a human which inspired the institute’s COVID-19 response.
COVID 19 and sustainable tourism: Information resources and links A collection of resources by Dr Anna Spenceley including ideas to help resilience and recovery, market research and intelligence, impacts on tourism and destinations, virtual tours and ideas to keep us inspired, and more.
Innovative business models for life on Earth A Luc Hoffmann Institute thought leadership initiative pointing to possible new ways to sustain conservation and livelihoods. The initiative contributes to the third stream of the Collaborative Platform by helping to source longer-term measures to improve the resilience of African conservation strategies.
Editorial Essay: COVID-19 and Protected and Conserved Areas (external document) This special editorial provides a snapshot of how protected and conserved areas around the world are being impacted by COVID-19. For many protected and conserved areas, negative impacts on management capacity, budgets and effectiveness are significant, as are impacts on the livelihoods of communities living in and around these areas.
With more and more companies striving for impact, and non-profit organisations seeking more sustainable revenue models, the lines between the business and non-profit sector are blurring. What new sustainable business models will emerge for non-profits and impact-driven enterprises to deliver lasting and effective impact?
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Drawing from new ideas and new networks that grew out of a November 2018 convening, the Luc Hoffmann Institute has begun incubating a number of initiatives that make use of innovative business models to deliver environmental gains. The institute is always scouting for bright minds and ideas, and helps connect new approaches together. With its incubation model, the institute works with innovators in both non-profits and impact-driven enterprises to transform good ideas into concrete solutions for nature and people.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute facilitates a convening on innovative business models for non-profits and social enterprise.
November 2018
Adrian Dellecker, Head of Programme at the Luc Hoffmann Institute, publishes a call for innovators with ideas for generating revenue for life on Earth.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute and WWF-Norway engage with and challenge innovators directly at the Business of Conservation Conference in Africa. Ideas and leads are gathered to include in an upcoming analysis publication.
October 2019
The Luc Hoffmann Institute publishes a thought piece by WWF-Norway’s Melissa de Kock about her work with the institute on finding and nurturing future business models for community-based conservation, with an initial focus on Africa.
What could revolutionize the way biodiversity data is collected, synthesized, understood and acted on, the way that ‘2 degrees Celsius’ galvanised action on Climate Change?
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In partnership with the UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), the Luc Hoffmann Institute is incubating the idea of transforming how biodiversity is integrated into decision-making globally through a multidimensional biodiversity index (MBI). Learning from the successes and failures of economic and poverty indices, the institute is bringing diverse voices together to lay the foundations for the concept and raise awareness of its potential.
For the first time, the notion of a multidimensional biodiversity index (MBI) emerges as an opportunity to better inform decision-making in the environmental sector.
Luc Hoffmann Institute, UNEP-WCMC, and WWF convene diverse actors around the search for an MBI. Feedback following the convening indicates that the “single index” approach is feasible.
June 2019
“Some things are very difficult to count, but if we create an infrastructure for measuring biodiversity, then it begins to count for society and people start to see the impact.”
Pali Lehohla, former Statistician General of South Africa and Founder of the Pan-African Institute for Evidence at the convening on ‘Exploring a multidimensional biodiversity index’.
“This is going to be important in designing policy interventions that can affect the trend [in species depletion] and hopefully turn it back.”
Adriana Conconi, Executive Director, Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative at the convening on ‘Exploring a multidimensional biodiversity index’.
2019
The United Nations Environment Programme Statistical Division helps integrating the index in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) reporting and considers becoming the index’s official custodian agency.
Acceleration
2019
Several governments volunteer to conduct pilot projects in their countries (Switzerland, South Africa, Vietnam, Mexico, Costa Rica); Several countries and foundations also indicate an interest in funding the development of an index.
February 2020
The Swiss Federal Department of Environment supports the development of the index for a three year project, and volunteers to have the concept tried in Switzerland.
Discussions begin with local actors, in Switzerland, Costa Rica, Viet Nam and Mexico on how to deliver pilot projects in countries to test the MBI.
Aspiration
Aspiration – biodiversity health – and business and societal responses to it – can be measured and easily communicated, resources are better allocated to regenerate biodiversity while ensuring human well-being.
One for all or all for one? A November 2018 thought piece by Carolina Soto-Navarro, Postdoctoral scientist, Luc Hoffmann Institute and UNEP-WCMC Science Programme.
If the decline in biodiversity is a problem, why have efforts to conserve it been ineffective? Is there a more inherent problem in how ‘biodiversity’ is conceptualised and managed that undermines actions? Biodiversity Revisited is the first comprehensive review of the concepts, narratives, governance, science, systems and futures underpinning biodiversity science since the emergence of the term in the 1980s. The initiative aspires to spark – in future generations of researchers – a new and more interdisciplinary set of pathways for research toward regenerating just and diverse life on Earth, and has resulted in an innovative research and action agenda.
The team, governance, themes and approach to Biodiversity Revisited are designed.
February 2019
A robust governance is put in place for oversight and the #BiodiversityRevisited conversation thread is born on social media
March 2019
Cambridge consultation: first response to the Biodiversity Revisited proposition from an international test group of early-career and diverse professionals
May 2019
Expanding the debate – the Boston Biodiversity Talks take place.
“Biodiversity Revisited is an exciting project. It offers an urgently needed opportunity to reframe the research agenda and the debate. In a time of growing global commitment to action for nature, it could not be more timely,”
says Jim Leape, William and Eva Price Senior Fellow at Stanford Woods, Institute for the Environment; Co-director, Center for Ocean Solutions.
The Biodiversity Revisited Symposium takes place in Vienna, bringing together interdisciplinary thinkers including journalists and scientists from the natural and social sciences. This picture shows the early career essay competition winners who joined the symposium.
September 2019
Biodiversity Revisited Symposium participants share their thoughts on the future of biodiversity conservation in short video interviews.
An article by journalist John Vidal appears in The Guardian, citing the Biodiversity Revisited Symposium and pressing for innovation and change in approaches to nature conservation.
The #BiodiversityRevisited conversation skyrockets on social media. Luc Hoffmann Institute Twitter followers triple from 1000 to almost 3000 followers.
A core group of 18 members of the Biodiversity Revisited initiative meets at The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center to begin drafting an innovative, five-year research agenda in an environment that facilitates deep, creative thinking.
23-24 February 2020
At the World Biodiversity Forum, 20 members of the Biodiversity Revisited initiative, including many early career essay contest winners, meet at The Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center to advance the development of the research agenda.
February 2020
The essay compilation Seeds of Change is published based on foundation questions for the discussions at the Biodiversity Revisited Symposium in September 2019. The essays explore new concepts, narratives, science, governance and systems for a diverse and just future for life on Earth.
A panel of three emerging, cross-sectoral leaders come together virtually with Melanie Ryan, Head of Programme, to discuss the development of the Biodiversity Revisited initiative as part of the WWF Fuller Science for Nature series.
The Biodiversity Revisited research and action agenda is published, rethinking the approach to biodiversity research for the coming years, with justice and diverse voices at the centre of our efforts.
In 2020, engagement grew across the media – especially digital and academic – building on existing Biodiversity Revisited narratives. As a Nature Sustainability article published in August 2020 gained traction in social media communities, Biodiversity Revisited’s principles and messages found new and different audiences. #BiodiversityRevisited has been mentioned thousands of times on Twitter to date, with journal citations including in Cambridge University’s Environmental Conservation further fuelling online conversations as well as a feature in the NOMIS Foundation’s SPARKS magazine.
In 2021 and beyond, fresh ideas, narratives and engaged networks continue to transform into action through research, policy and practice for nature and people. Networks of engaged partners and participants further embed the Biodiversity Revisited story, ideas and new framings into their activities of teaching, sharing knowledge and designing global networks and projects for research.
A Collaborative Process (subscription required) An interview published in Nature Sustainability in August 2020 with the Luc Hoffmann Institute’s Director, Dr. Jon Hutton, and Head of Programme, Melanie Ryan.
Imagining Transformative Biodiversity Futures A collaborative article published in Nature Sustainability in August 2020, imagined and written by a collective of authors from the Biodiversity Revisited initiative.
Research Agenda On 1 July 2020, the Biodiversity Revisited research and action agenda was published. A culmination of the two-year Biodiversity Revisited collaboration, the agenda charts a course for more effective biodiversity research and action for the next five years and beyond, putting justice at the centre of our efforts.
Starting New Conversations to Re-think Biodiversity Research and Action Five Future Earth scientists who participated in the Biodiversity Revisited initiative share their perspectives on the process and importance of rethinking biodiversity and collaborating to create the research agenda.
Fuller Seminar In June 2020, a panel of three emerging, cross-sectoral leaders came together virtually with Melanie Ryan, Head of Programme, to discuss the development of the Biodiversity Revisited initiative as part of the WWF Fuller Science for Nature series.
Seeds of Change A February 2020 compilation of provocative essays that formed the basis of the discussions at the Biodiversity Revisited Symposium in September 2019, Seeds of Change explores new concepts, narratives, science, governance and systems for a diverse and just future for life on Earth.
Putting back what we’ve taken from the world’s forests An independent thought piece brought to you by Colin Chapman (a Professor at George Washington University) and Claire Hemingway (a Program Officer at the National Science Foundation).
Blinded by our heroic fantasies? An independent thought piece brought to you by Josie Chambers, a postdoc at Cambridge University and the Luc Hoffmann Institute.
Is what we’re doing working? An independent thought piece brought to you by Victoria Pilbeam, a Senior Consultant at Clear Horizon Consulting.
Bridging aspirations and biodiversity conservation An independent thought piece brought to you by Dr Santiago Izquierdo-Tort, a Consultant at Natura y Ecosistemas Mexicanos and a Senior Researcher at ITAM Centre for Energy. and Natural Resources.
When is growth good enough? An independent thought piece brought to you by Natalie Knowles, a PhD Candidate at the University of Waterloo.
Does extinction matter? An independent thought piece by Dr Niki Rust, a StrategicCommunications Adviser at the Luc Hoffmann Institute.
How can the world shift from a negative discourse of looming ecological disaster to a more positive, solutions-oriented discourse? The Better Nature initiative (formerly called ‘Conservation Futures’) offers a support platform to accelerate innovative ideas in the field of law, finance and technology to change the rules of the game in favour of environmental regeneration.
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In 2017, the Luc Hoffmann Institute and the United Nations Environment Programme co-created this initiative to explore fresh perspectives and new approaches to nature conservation, aiming to work with key actors to mobilise the most promising innovations.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute uses the three-horizons approach with broad representation (sectoral, age, geographic) to generate an innovative design for this initiative.
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Oxford Martin School, and the Luc Hoffmann Institute jointly publish a thought leadership publication on the initiative.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute and UNEP convene global actors from the communication, finance and technology sectors.
July 2018
The Luc Hoffmann Institute refines the initiative in a global review process with 100 experts.
December 2018
Erik Solheim, the executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, endorses and sponsors the setup of the initiative, opening and presiding over its founding meeting in Nairobi.
December 2018
“Better Nature aims to secure a central place for nature and natural resources in new and emerging conceptions of human development. It is designed to contribute to the global efforts underway to accelerate the delivery of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As such, Better Nature is closely working with UNDP to explore adequate mechanisms for future collaboration.”
– Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme.
Acceleration
January 2019
The initiative receives support from the Italian government and with this launch funding the Luc Hoffmann Institute is able to give the initiative formerly known as Conservation Future its own wings as an independent ‘Better Nature’ initiative with its own website and led by champions Mark Halle, Randall Krantz and Ben Metz.
The independent initiative receives a EUR 400,000 grant from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to take the initiative forward and establish a core team of three innovators. UNDP acknowledges the role of the initiative in contributing to the delivery of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The longer-term aspiration: healthy nature is central to all human activity.
Timeline ends here
Related resources
Conservation Futures: joining the dots An April 2018 thought piece by Adrian Dellecker, Head of Strategy and Development (ad-interim) at the Luc Hoffmann Institute.
Conservation Futures, purpose and design A February 2018 thought leadership publication by the Luc Hoffmann Institute, the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Oxford Martin School on the Better Nature initiative.
In 2020, governments will agree on a new global biodiversity framework for the next 10 years. How can key stakeholder organisations find a common approach and standard for deciding on biodiversity priorities, share guidance on mapping biodiversity priorities, and agree on a global map of biodiversity priorities as a basis for development planning?
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Seeking consensus on biodiversity priorities is a United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) initiative supported by the Luc Hoffmann Institute in its ideation, incubation and acceleration, with important inputs from over 10 further partners, including the National Geographic Society, the NatureMap consortium, and the biodiversity hub of the Science-Based Targets Network.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute convenes, together with UNEP-WCMC and financial support from the Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, a diverse range of scientific, practitioner and policy experts and institutions to discuss how to establish the scientific basis for scaling up area-based conservation in a post-2020 strategy. The convening brings key players with different views and values together for the first time, and fosters considerable understanding, good will and the intention to take the idea forward.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute co-creates the design of and supports a convening hosted by UNEP-WCMC entitled ‘Gaining Consensus on Spatial and Temporal Metrics for Informed Decision-making’. The Luc Hoffmann Institute and UNEP-WCMC make the workshop synthesis report available to support negotiators in the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
Out of ideas and approaches developed in the 2017 and 2019 convenings, including global biodiversity maps to support advocacy ad implementation, the Nature Map Consortium creates Nature Map Earth to help governments operationalize targets for biodiversity conservation and restoration.
To contribute to relevant global decisions and policy-making, the 2017 and 2019 convening workshop findings are summarised in two separate reports, available on the UNEP-WCMC post-2020 page. The findings notably supported the November 2019 meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, a cradle for the development of the post-2020 global biodiversity framework.
How can we make the global trade of goods with high biodiversity impact more sustainable?
The trade in wild and farmed species has great potential for creating long-term jobs and boosting economic growth, particularly in developing countries. However, overhunting, overfishing and overfarming can lead to population crashes, habitat destruction, and impaired livelihoods for local people.
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The TRADE Hub brings together over 50 organisations (industry, trade agencies, academia, governments and civil society) from 15 different countries, all studying various stages of the supply chain and able to reveal damaging links and constructive pathways for sustainable change.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute played a vital role in the co-design and development of the global theory of change that guided the first five years of the initiative’s work programme. The TRADE Hub investigates the trends and impacts of trade in wildlife, wild meat and agricultural goods, tracing their trade globally including Brazil, Cameroon, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Indonesia, Republic of Congo, and Tanzania. Mapping a plant or animal’s journey, all the way from its origin, through trading companies and to the consumer, reveals the full impact of trade on people and the natural world.
The results of the trade mapping will feed into recommendations on how to sustainably produce, trade and consume wild products and goods, as well as help companies to understand their full environmental impact. In addition, a modelling tool will be produced that predicts how shifts in trade routes affect both people and nature. Countries, companies and decision makers can use the model and help to make trade a positive force for sustainable development. The Trade Hub is financed by the UK Research and Innovation’s Global Challenges Research Fund (UKRI GCRF) and led by the UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
Based on a successful collaboration with the Luc Hoffmann Institute in the Development Corridors Partnership, the United Nations Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) invites the institute to lead a theory of change and impact design initiative for TRADE Hub.
First workshops occur to co-design the theory of change for TRADE Hub, gathering inputs from partners from each of the 15 TRADE Hub countries face-to-face, via surveys, and via videoconference. This is part of the core design for proposal submission to the UK Research and Innovation, Global Challenges Research Fund (UKRI-GCRF) in May 2018. The proposal is to map the journey of a range of global commodities, their interdependencies with the wellbeing of communities and how patterns of trade influence positive or negative outcomes around the world.
Acceleration
October 2018
The Luc Hoffmann Institute defends the project proposal with other TRADE Hub leads in front of a global panel of over 15 interdisciplinary experts and the funder (GCRF). In a blog thought piece, Melanie Ryan, Head of Programme (ad-interim) at the Luc Hoffmann Institute, describes the day.
The UKRI-GCRF decides to fund the UKRI-GCRF TRADE Hub, led by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), GBP 20 million. A new global research hub of 50 partners in 15 countries is created to map goods with high biodiversity impacts in view of making trade sustainable. The institute helped the TRADE Hub to improve its plans, goals and strategies and played a major role in leveraging the GBP 20 million grant.
18-21 February 2019
Inception workshop Cambridge
The Luc Hoffmann Institute further contributes to the project theory of change through several workshops (on stakeholder mapping, impacts, log frame development and risk registering). This inception workshop is led by the Luc Hoffmann Institute and the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT).
July 2019
The Thailand Department of Development and Sustainability holds a workshop at the AIT in Thailand to harmonise the theory of change, impact, log frame and risk register for TRADE Hub.
Aspiration
Ultimately, the TRADE hub aspires to deliver impacts that change the way trade in wild species and agricultural commodities is undertaken in order to benefit both nature and people.
How can we better ensure that neither biodiversity conservation nor livelihoods are negatively impacted by conflicts over iconic wildlife? As human populations expand and natural habitats shrink, people and wildlife increasingly clash over food and habitat. These interactions drive conflicts between different interest groups with strongly held positions, creating some of the most intractable conservation challenges. Working to address deep-seated human-wildlife conflicts requires innovative ideas and approaches.
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To safeguard species and community livelihoods, the institute is working with Griffith University, the University of Aberdeen and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN-SSC) Human-Wildlife Conflict Task Force to create an overarching standard for addressing conflicts over biodiversity.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute, together with Griffith University, hold workshops to formulate a vision of “institutionalised good governance in human-wildlife coexistence in wildlife conservation”.
Incubation
2019
Input on the initiative is sought from the Luc Hoffmann Institute’s Advisory Council.
The Luc Hoffmann Institute commissions a systems analysis study on “The state of knowledge and practice on human-wildlife conflicts”, driving exploration on a global standard.
2019
The Luc Hoffmann Institute and Griffith University convene stakeholders and community groups in Namibia and introduce an innovative approach to discussing and solving conflicts.
Acceleration
March 2020
The Luc Hoffmann Institute issues a new analysis on ‘The state of knowledge and practice on human-wildlife conflicts’. Compiled by leading specialists in the field of HWC, it points the way to developing a standard to guide and improve approaches to HWC globally.
After a drawback brought by the pandemic, the Luc Hoffmann Institute resumed work on the initiative to bring stakeholders together for a virtual convening in February. A group of 33 scholars, practitioners and innovators met to discuss the nearly two-year engagement in the initiative, reflect on reports produced about existing standards and identify ways the initiative can be continued to achieve lasting impact.
This initiative is the nucleus around which a consensus for the value of a standard for human-wildlife existence can take shape among academics, conservation practitioners, and communities. The pilot and strong relationships that have been forged have paved the way for accelerated progress towards funding for the creation and uptake of a global standard.
How can different sectors have better-informed, cross-sectoral conversations to help deal with the rapid development of technologies that intersect with nature and people? Synthetic biology is one such rapidly-developing technology, where fear of the unknown can cause paralysis. This intersection of technology and emotions requires thoughtful and informed conversations that generate new understanding to avoid overlooking powerful new options.
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In 2016, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) approached the Luc Hoffmann Institute to seek expertise in convening and co-production. The IUCN wanted to apply this expertise to its task force and technical subgroup on synthetic biology and biodiversity conservation that was mandated by the 2016 World Conservation Congress in Hawaii . The task force were specifically examining the intersection of emerging synthetic biology technologies and their impact on biodiversity conservation in order to inform the 2020 global policy development process.
Synthetic biology is a complex and controversial field, with potentially large implications for biodiversity conservation, both positive and negative. This initiative was designed to increase understanding within the IUCN’s more than 1,300 member organisations of the potential range of impacts when synthetic biology interfaces with biodiversity and its conservation. It maps the different values, knowledge and positions related to synthetic biology to enable the conservation sector to play an informed role in the debate.
The IUCN approaches the Luc Hoffmann Institute for guidance in convening and co-production for its task force and technical subgroup on synthetic biology and biodiversity conservation.
The institute invests CHF 120,000 in seed funding and provides expertise for the design of the taskforce, framework design and creation, and to boost the diversity of participation by harnessing expertise from around the world. This stage included workshops in Cambridge for technical and steering work, an open public ‘listening’ forum as well as follow-up work held in Brazil.
April-November 2018
The institute designs and contributes to three IUCN writing workshops, including the Taskforce Inception Workshop pictured here, which generates new network connections and bridges different communities of practice.
May 2019
By integrating conservation stakeholders with those from the private sector and indigenous groups, the Luc Hoffmann Institute facilitates a new and more inclusive way of bringing together multiple kinds of evidence for difficult conservation issues. The Institute’s incubation and acceleration made it possible for IUCN to obtain funding of 200,000 CHF from the Swiss Government and to finalise the global assessment ‘Genetic Frontiers for Conservation’. This global assessment forms the basis of a resolution for consideration and adoption by the IUCN member states and organisations at the 2020 World Conservation Congress in Montpellier.
The global assessment comes under criticism from special interest groups. The IUCN releases a statement in which it is able to defend the global assessment thanks to the credibility, legitimacy and relevance of the collaborative design and the process used in forming it. The IUCN acknowledges the Luc Hoffmann Institute’s contribution to this successful design and process.
In the above-mentioned publication on ‘Genetic frontiers for conservation: An assessment of synthetic biology and biodiversity conservation’, the IUCN says “Many thanks… to the Luc Hoffmann Institute for accelerating this work”. As a result of our work IUCN is able to reframe the problem, develop a co-produced analysis, defend the scientific credibility of this analysis against detractors and successfully develop policy recommendations for the World Conservation Congress in 2020.
Aspiration
The global conservation community stays abreast of cutting edge societal and scientific advances in synthetic biology in order to develop a position that optimises potential gains while minimising negative outcomes for nature and society.
