PubMed · 12339364
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International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources IUCN. 1984. IUCN action.. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12339364/
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De-extinction, once the realm of science fiction, has evolved into a tangible scientific endeavor thanks to breakthroughs in genome sequencing, engineering, advanced assisted reproductive technologies, and stem cell biology. Alongside this work are innovations in reintroduction science and artificial intelligence, which are refining strategies for species translocations, rewilding, and long-term ecosystem monitoring of de-extinct species and populations. While the primary motivation for de-extinction is restoring lost ecological functions to eroded ecosystems, each of these technologies can also be applied to conservation biology for de-endangerment, offering new solutions for biodiversity preservation. This review synthesizes the technological advancements emerging from de-extinction science and explores their broad applications in conservation, demonstrating how de-extinction is both about resurrecting lost species and about expanding the conservation toolkit to sustain and rebuild biodiversity in the face of accelerating environmental change.
Conservation biology and restoration ecology are two essential yet distinct disciplines that address the growing challenge of biodiversity loss. Traditionally, these fields have relied on ecological principles and management practices aimed at protecting or reestablishing natural systems. The crisis is no longer just ecological; it is evolutionary and genomic. The accelerating pace of environmental change has outstripped the capacity of conventional approaches, creating a pressing need for innovative solutions. Biotechnology offers potentially transformative tools that can enhance the effectiveness and precision of both conservation and restoration efforts, especially for species where conventional conservation approaches have proved insufficient. Techniques such as genetic rescue, synthetic biology, and gene editing are increasingly being explored to address critical challenges, such as invasive species control, genetic diversity loss, and habitat fragmentation, to both invigorate endangered species and restore historical biodiversity. Despite its promise, the integration of biotechnology into conservation and restoration has raised ethical, ecological, and regulatory concerns. These include ecological unpredictability and public resistance to genetic interventions in wild populations. This perspective examines the current landscape of biotechnological applications in conservation and restoration, highlighting successful case studies, ongoing controversies, and optimism for additional progress. We argue that thoughtful, transparent integration of biotechnology that is grounded in ecological knowledge and stakeholder engagement can reconcile the goals of conservation and restoration. As ecosystems face mounting pressures, biotech-enabled strategies may prove essential for fostering resilience and ensuring long-term ecological sustainability.
The protection of groundwater resources is of great importance in many semi-arid and sub-tropical environments. The Copperbelt of Zambia is one such environment and due to the high proportion of tailings impoundments, residue heaps, high-density informal settlements and extensive sulfidic ore deposits in the region, its groundwater resources are under threat of anthropogenic or geogenic pollution. One such pollutant plume is investigated in this study, to determine its origin, rate of progression and the environmental and health risk it poses. Geological and geochemical investigation strongly suggests an upslope tailings impoundment as the source of contaminants, with the edge of the pollution plume lying 500-700 m downstream of the impoundment. Although cobalt, nickel and zinc concentrations were elevated within the polluted groundwater, the concentrations are low as a result of sulfide precipitation and adsorption within the aquifer, and meets guidelines for drinking water quality. Attenuation of heavy metals is linked to tailings dam and aquifer pH, with the high buffering capacity of each implying that these processes of attenuation are likely to continue removing harmful metals from the aquifer. Thus, it appears unlikely that the contaminated groundwater will present a major environmental risk at this site. However, tailings impoundments are widespread throughout the Copperbelt: sites with low tailings dam buffer capacity and in catchments on crystalline bedrock geology, groundwater pollution through tailings dam leachate may liberate high concentrations of heavy metals into the shallow groundwater, potentially posing a serious human health risk to the communities using the water resources and an environmental risk to the downstream ecosystems.