#37 - Nature Tech MRV (part 1): acoustics and eDNA

This thirty seventh issue of The Nature Intelligence Newsletter takes a closer look at two Monitoring, Reporting & Verification (MRV) technologies to measure biodiversity. It covers:

• An overview of the main biodiversity MRV approaches
• A mapping of eDNA and acoustics services providers
• How eDNA works
• Key differences between ecoacoustics and bioacoustics

It is part of a series on Nature Tech:

• overview of the types of Nature Tech solutions and mappings of companies within each category
• Nature Tech investors and investing trends

More will follow (though not immediately) on drones, camera traps, etc (please post in comments any good resources on those other technologies!).

Main biodiversity MRV approaches

Rob Wreglesworth provided a useful overview of 9 biodiversity monitoring technologies and associated start-ups:

• 6 hardware-based:

1️⃣ Remote sensing

2️⃣ Drones

3️⃣ Acoustics

4️⃣ eDNA

5️⃣ Camera traps

6️⃣ GPS

• 3 software-based technologies are also mentioned but not detailed:

7️⃣ Geographical Information Systems (GIS)

8️⃣ Artificial-intelligence (AI)

9️⃣ Phone apps

The Biodiversity Footprint Intelligence Company (BioInt) built a very useful comparison table summarizing the capacity and costs of these technologies.

As a reminder, a previous Nature Intelligence Newsletter issue provided several mappings of companies in each of these MRV segments.

eDNA and acoustics service providers

Ollie Potter from The NatureTech Memos released a visualization tool which helps to quickly see all the companies involved in one Nature Tech segment (a bit hard to manipulate, but once you get it, it's powerful!).

It lists the following companies for eDNA and terrestrial bioacoustics:

You can access the associated database here.

Focus on: eDNA

eDNA is an important tool to measure the state of biodiversity, along with bioacoustics, footprinting, traditional ecological surveys, etc.

This video from the World Economic Forum on NatureMetrics' technology provides a very informative and clear summary of how it works and its advantages.

Focus on: acoustics

Bioacoustics and ecoacoustics are another types of approach to directly measure biodiversity (by opposition to modelling it based on pressures). But how do they differ? biometrio.earth provides a simple explanation below.

Disclaimer: all views are mine and do not represent any institution or initiative's.

Access previous issues of the Nature Intelligence Newsletter:

Case studies and examples

#01 - Impacts on ecosystem integrity of a listed equity index assessed for the first time - STOXX600

#08 - Getting inspired: 3 front-runners who assessed their biodiversity impacts at the corporate level

#09 - Ecosystem condition: direct measurement and assessment of regulatory offsets

Ecosystem condition definition and metrics

#02 - All you ever wanted to know about the MSA

#03 - Ecosystem condition: the indicator to watch for corporate biodiversity performance

Biodiversity measurement tools

#04 – Differences between the corporate biodiversity metrics

#05 - Charting path: navigating the biodiversity tool wilderness - part 1 - The compasses

#06 - Charting path: navigating the biodiversity tool wilderness - part 2 - The map

#07 - Charting path: navigating the biodiversity tool wilderness - part 3 - Tools for financial institutions

Biodiversity accounting

#33 - Accounting for biodiversity: differentiating and claiming responsibilities

#35 - Accounting for biodiversity: stocks, variations of stocks and supply chain accounting

Biodiversity-Related Financial Risks

#32 - Biodiversity-related financial risks: the tsunami hidden by the climate risks

Biodiversity credits

#10 - Biodiversity credits: definition and main actors

#11 - Biodiversity credits: uncovering the use cases

#12 - Biodiversity credits: deep-dive on use cases, demand and market size

#13 - Biodiversity credits: counterbalancing impacts with clear ecological equivalency rules

#15 - Biodiversity credits: lessons & key differences of 4 leading schemes

#16 - Biodiversity credits: 4 issues you need to know about

#17 - Biodiversity credits trends: market & price

#20 - Biodiversity credits: the cooking analogy - understanding indicators

#23 - Biodiversity credits - the ingredients - main indicators used by BC schemes?

#24 - Biodiversity credits - insights from a deep-dive on the recipe of 13 leading schemes

Align

#14 - Align - Best practices for biodiversity measurement & compliance of existing tools

The Ecosystem Condition Protocol (EC Protocol)

#18 - The Ecosystem Condition Protocol: introduction, needs, goals and linkages to other frameworks

#19 - The Ecosystem Condition Protocol: the what and how of this missing piece of the corporate biodiversity puzzle

COP16

#21 - COP16 - intro, disappointments and hopes

#22 - COP16 - progress on metrics, biodiversity credits, IP, DSI; failure on financing & monitoring

Thought leadership: Translating Biodiversity Goals into Action: A Global Budget Approach (2024)

#25 - Building biodiversity trajectories similar to climate: from global to companies

#27 - Building biodiversity trajectories similar to climate (part 2): global budget & trajectory and country ranking

Nature Tech

#33 - Nature Tech: the maps to navigate the 1000+ start-ups

#36 - Nature Tech: investors & state of investing

General biodiversity knowledge

#26 - Key concepts you should be aware of - part 1

#28 - From knowledge to action (part 1): science illuminates the path forward for biodiversity

#29 - AI & biodiversity: distinguishing real from false opportunities

#30 - The emerging trends to watch: NbS, RegAg, AI, reporting regulations

#31 - The EU Omnibus Package - What it means for business & biodiversity

Credits: the cover of this issue was made using ChatGPT.