Saving species but losing wildness? Using biotechnological interventions for conservation goals

Applied Biodiversity Science Seminar

Presented by Dr. Clare Palmer, Department of Philosophy, Texas A&M University (website)

Abstract: There’s growing discussion of the potential use of biotechnological interventions such as facilitated adaptation and gene drives for conservation goals, in particular for species protection.  Such interventions are controversial. Much of the controversy concerns the potential risks such biotechnological interventions are thought to pose, and (relatedly) whether they are likely to succeed. However, some worries about the use of these technologies would persist even if they were completely successful in achieving their conservation goals. One such worry concerns wildness value. Might biotechnological interventions mean we end up saving species at the expense of wildness value? And would it matter if we did? In this talk, I’ll use a theoretical case in which humans genetically adapt members of a wild animal species to improve thermal resilience in the context of climate change. I’ll consider different senses of what makes wild animals ‘wild’ and explore ways in which wildness value might be lost (or otherwise!) both by the impacts of climate change and by human-assisted genetic adaptation. I’ll argue that although there are narrowly-construed senses in which wildness might be lost by such biotechnological interventions, this is not in itself sufficient reason to reject undertaking them.