The aim of the SynBioGov project is the development of an integrative framework for the fair and responsible governance of synthetic biology. Synthetic biology refers to an emerging interdisciplinary area of science and technology that involves the application of engineering principles to biology. Far from being a homogenous area, it encompasses a wide range of fields, methodologies, and approaches, all aiming at the (re-)design and fabrication of biological components and systems that do not already exist in the natural world. Conducted in the context of international environmental law and governance, research covers both the macro-level (global institutions and multilateral environmental agreements) and the micro-level (actors involved in lab research), also addressing the institutional structures for risk management and practices for responsible research and innovation that may be used to connect them. Aiming at increasing the legitimacy of both international law developments and innovation practices, development of the governance framework is based on three work packages as following:
• an assessment of current state of international environmental law, including an analysis of regulatory gaps and normative challenges in the context of general principles of law, regarding both biosafety and equity and justice-related objectives, with a focus on the Convention on Biological Diversity and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture;
• an examination of frameworks developed in the sociological fields of risk analysis, responsible research and innovation, and science and technology studies, including gendered approaches to technological risk, and identification of linkages with the international law study; and
• development of an exploratory typology of actors involved in synthetic biology research, including their claims and motivations.
Researcher
Elissavet Tsioumani (School of International Studies, University of Trento)
Supervisor
Louisa R. Parks (School of International Studies, University of Trento)
Funding
European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101029634.
Training at the host institution
• ACDC Summer School on synthetic life (26-27 August 2021, online)
• Doctoral seminar on qualitative methods for social sciences (January – March 2021)
Other training
• Summer school on legal research methodology (14-15 July 2022, online, organized by the University of Burgos). Participation at roundtable on experiences in applying interdisciplinary methods
• Seminar/reading group on feminist and decolonial approaches (March – June 2023, hybrid): organized by the University of Leuven and the University of Uppsala
Integration in activities of the host institution
• Participation as a discussant in the Conference on “The rule of law in the European Union and the consequences of its violations” (7-8 February 2022)
• Participation in the “Women in International Affairs” series of webinars: Presentation on Wangari Maathai (28 February 2022)
• Collegio Clesio lecture on synthetic biology governance (5 April 2022)
• Lectures on biodiversity governance, smallholders’ farmers, and technology governance in L. Parks’ master course “People, Politics and the Planet”
• Participation as a discussant in the seminar “The long land war: Concepts, infrastructure and landscape” by Prof. Jo Guldi, Emory University (14 December 2023)
• Participation in the PhD Colloquium “Governance for Sustainable and Just Transitions” (8-9 February 2024) as part of GreenDeal-Net
Publications
Book chapters and journal articles
• Frison C and Tsioumani E “Access and Benefit Sharing and Digital Sequence Information: Unravelling the Knot” in Lawson C., Rourke M and Humphries F (eds) Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources, Information and Traditional Knowledge, Routledge 2022, 122-138
• Frison C, Parks L, Tsioumani E “Biocultural Community Protocols: Making Space for Indigenous and Local Cultures in Access and Benefit Sharing?” in Lawson C., Rourke M and Humphries F (eds) Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources, Information and Traditional Knowledge, Routledge 2022, 177-190
• Rabitz F, Reynolds J, Tsioumani E “Emerging technologies in biodiversity governance: gaps and opportunities for action” in Visseren-Hamakers I and Kok M (eds) Transforming Biodiversity Governance, Cambridge University Press 2022, 137-154 (open access)
• Kok M, Tsioumani E, Bliss C, Immovilli M, Keune H, Morgera E, Rüegg S, Schapper A, Vijge M, Zinngrebe Y, Visseren-Hamakers I “Enabling transformative biodiversity governance in the post-2020 era” in Visseren-Hamakers I and Kok M (eds) Transforming Biodiversity Governance, Cambridge University Press 2022, 341-360 (open access)
• Parks L and Tsioumani E “Transforming biodiversity governance? Indigenous Peoples’ participation in the Convention on Biological Diversity” Biological Conservation 280, April 2023, 109933 (open access). Part of special issue on: Ethics and practice of biodiversity science: how hidden moral assumptions impact conservation research and policy
• Tsioumani E “Interdisciplinary methodologies in international law scholarship: a lawyer’s journey from the social to the life sciences” Ragion Pratica 2023, 1, 251-266 (open access).
Other (blogposts and policy briefs)
• Allan J, Tsioumani E, Jones N, Soubry B, State of Global Environmental Governance 2021, IISD Earth Negotiations Bulletin, February 2022
• Tsioumani E, La biodiversità e la Conferenza delle Nazioni Unite: ecco cosa si è deciso e quali sono gli obiettivi a breve termine, Orizzonti Internazionali, I Dolomiti, December 2022
• Tsioumani E, The 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference: achievements and shortcomings, Eurac Research, January 2023
• Zinngrebe Y, Agapakis I, Tsioumani E, Karlsson-Vinkhuyzen S, Smallwood J, Förster J, Tröger U, Lehmann I, Valencia V, Can the new global biodiversity agenda avoid another implementation failure? The new Montreal Kunming GBF raises more questions than answers. Earth System Governance blog, February 2023
• McKenzie K, Lennan M, Eccleston-Turner M, Rourke M, Hampton A-R, Tsioumani E, Ainslie J, Titi C, Porter G, Upton H, Williams R, Sekalala S, Wenton A, Kolawole Oke E, Wenham C, Switzer S, Equity in Global Health Law: Policy Brief, July 2023.
Conference presentations
• Tsioumani E “Building an integrative framework for the fair and responsible governance of synthetic biology.” Presentation at the 2021 Earth System Governance Annual Conference (7-9 September 2021, Bratislava, Slovakia, and online)
• Tsioumani E “Technological innovation in global environmental law and governance: the case of synthetic biology”: Invited presentation at the X Anniversary Colloquium on Global Environmental Law and Governance of the University of Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (4 May 2022, Glasgow, UK)
• Tsioumani E “In the quest for justice: agrarian movements in international law.” Presentation at the Conference on “Critical Margins. Politicizing the Crisis” co-organized by the European Sociological Association Research Network on Social Movements, the European Consortium for Political Research Standing Group on Participation and Mobilization, and the Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento (15-17 June 2022, Trento)
• Tsioumani E, two presentations at the 80th Biennial Conference of the International Law Association (19-24 June 2022, Lisbon, Portugal):
“Challenges and opportunities for international law in the age of synthetic biology” under the stream on “New technologies and international law”
“Biodiversity and health: linkages and challenges for international law and governance” invited by the Committee on Global Health Law
• Tsioumani E “Emerging technologies in global biodiversity law and governance: the case of synthetic biology.” Presentation at the 2022 Conference on Earth System Governance (21-24 October 2022, Toronto, Canada)
• Tsioumani E “Equity in the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.” Invited presentation at closed workshop on “Equity in Global Health Law – towards a critical understanding” (27 March 2023, Kings College London)
• Tsioumani E “Exploring the increasing complexities of international environmental law-making: The case of the Kunming – Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.” Presentation at the Annual Conference of the Socio-legal Studies Association (4-6 April 2023, Derry, Northern Ireland, UK and online)
• Tsioumani E “Positioning law in technoscientific futures: the case of synthetic biology.” Presentation at the STS Italia Annual Conference (28-30 June 2023, Bologna, Italy)
• Tsioumani E “Novel biotechnologies in international environmental law: Falling through the cracks?” and Tsioumani E and Parks L “Transforming biodiversity governance? Indigenous Peoples’ contributions and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.” Two presentations at the 20th Annual Colloquium of the IUCN Academy of Environmental Law: Future-Proofing Law in a Time of Environmental Emergency (31 July – 4 August 2023, Joensuu, Finland, and online)
• Tsioumani E, three presentations at the Interest Groups on Social Sciences and International Law, International Health Law, and BioLaw at the Annual Conference of the European Society of International Law (30 August – 2 September 2023, Aix-en-Provence, France) on:
“Exploring De-legalization Trends in Global Biodiversity Law and Governance”
“Taking Fairness and Equity Seriously: Lessons from the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture”
“New genomic technologies in international environmental law: falling through the cracks?”
• Rabitz F and Tsioumani E “Regulatory disengagement and the shifting politics of biotechnology under the Convention on Biological Diversity” and Parks L and Tsioumani E “Transforming biodiversity governance? Indigenous Peoples’ contributions and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.” Presentations at the 2023 Radboud Conference on Earth System Governance (24-27 October 2023, Nijmegen, Netherlands)
• Roundtable discussion on “Governing the space commons: insights from other fields.” Invited participation in the virtual conference of the International Association for the Study of the Commons: Commons in Space 2023 (15-17 November 2023)
• Tsioumani E “Farmers’ rights and local agricultural varieties: the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.” Invited presentation at the seventh scientific meeting on local and indigenous varieties in Greece (21 March 2024, Athens, Greece).
Attendance of intergovernmental negotiations
• Ninth session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) (19-24 September 2022, New Delhi, India)
• 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference: 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity and associated meetings of the protocols (7-19 December 2022, Montreal, Canada)
• Tenth meeting of the ITPGRFA Working Group to Enhance the Functioning of the Multilateral System (12-14 July 2023, Rome, Italy)
• Tenth session of the ITPGRFA Governing Body (20-24 November 2023, Rome).
Impact on policy-makers
• Pre-COP26 Knowledge-Exchange Dialogue: “Multi-level Joint Action for Climate, Nature and People: Bridging knowledge, policy and practice” (20-21 October 2021, online, organized by the University of York, Toronto, Canada): Invited speaker on linkages regarding biodiversity and climate governance
• Side-event at the ninth session of the ITPGRFA Governing Body (22 September 2022, New Delhi): “Access and Benefit-sharing and Digital Sequence Information: Unravelling the knot.” Co-organized with Christine Frison (Université de Louvain)
• Seminar and Q&A session on the outcomes of the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference, organized by the Scottish Parliament (26 January 2023, online): Invited expert
• Biodiversa+ workshop on “Transformative change for biodiversity and public policy” (22 June 2023, online, organized by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition): Invited speaker
• Side-event at the tenth session of the ITPGRFA Governing Body (22 November 2023): “DSI in international negotiations: an overview on recent developments at the CBD, ITPGRFA, IGC and PIP Framework/Pandemic Treaty”. Organized by Université de Louvain. Presentation on: “Is ABS addressing the real problem? Insights from negotiations on DSI across international processes”.
Collaboration and outreach activities
• European Researchers’ Night (24 September 2021, Trento)
• World Food Forum – Youth Action (16-20 October 2023): academic delegate
• Moderation of webinar on: “The Global Seed Commons and the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, organized by the University of Eastern Finland and presented by Christine Frison (Université de Louvain)
• Collaboration with the Transdisciplinary Institute for Environmental and Social Studies (Thessaloniki, Greece) in a series of seminars and events in the context of a Jean Monnet project on the interlinkages between human rights and the environment.
For further information see the project website and blog.