At COP15 in December 2022, nearly 200 countries agreed to the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which aims to not just halt but reverse biodiversity loss by 2030. This week, an international fund launched to support those goals. But to protect nature, you need to know what to protect. Biodiversity is a complex tangle of living things that isn't easy to measure, and traditional methods are costly and cumbersome.
UK-based NatureMetrics is making the process cheaper, faster and simpler. How? By relying on environmental DNA. eDNA is everywhere — from the trails fish leave in water to the minute traces mammals shed through their hair and skin. Every living entity contributes to a vast reservoir of ecological data that NatureMetrics can tap into by collecting samples from water and soil. It's also working on capturing eDNA from the air.
At COP15, NatureMetrics launched the world's first nature performance monitoring service powered by eDNA technology, which translates collected data into key indicators that are easy to understand for stakeholders within multinational corporations — including Nestlé and Anglo American — and conservation organizations. Earlier this month, NatureMetrics raised GBP 10 million to scale up its capacities and meet growing global demand.
