Biodiversity - The Challenges of Quantifying Biodiversity Data When Regrowing Rainforests

Regrowing indigenous rainforests in West Africa is not only important for sequestering carbon and mitigating climate change, but also for restoring and protecting biodiversity. However, quantifying biodiversity data in rainforest restoration projects can present significant challenges to project developers, and Oko is no exception. This is due to the sheer complexity of biodiversity and the difficulty in capturing data on the various and numerous species across the flora and fauna that make up the ecosystem.

Oko is working to regrow rainforests at scale across West Africa, but due to the staggering complexity of biodiversity, these projects are not as simple as planting seeds and waiting for them to grow into a forest.To truly be able to restore forests and their natural habitats to support biodiversity, Oko is working to try and understand how to quantify biodiversity and the impact reforestation will have for its restoration. By putting data behind biodiversity impacts, Oko hopes to better be able to work towards restoring it.

One of the main difficulties in measuring biodiversity data is the vast number of species that inhabit a rainforest. Rainforests are one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, with millions of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms. Capturing data on all of these species is a daunting task, and many species are still unknown to science.Additionally, the interactions between species are complex and difficult to quantify, making it challenging to understand the impact of ecosystem changes on biodiversity.

Another challenge is the difficulty in capturing data on the different stages of the regrowth process. Rainforest restoration and regrowth is a slow process, and it can take years or even decades for the ecosystem to fully recover. Capturing data on the changes in biodiversity during this process is essential for understanding the impact of the regrowth project, but it requires long-term monitoring and data collection. This can be difficult to sustain, particularly in remote areas where access is limited, and resources can be low to non-existent.

Protecting and restoring biodiversity is also challenging because it involves more than just the number of species present. Biodiversity is a complex concept that encompasses the variety of genes, species, and ecosystems, as well as the interactions between them. Protecting and restoring biodiversity can be more qualitative than quantitative, and requires a holistic approach that takes into account the entire ecosystem and the interplay between different species.

Despite these challenges, there are tools and strategies that can be used to capture biodiversity data and monitor changes in the ecosystem. For example, remote sensing techniques such as satellite imagery and drone analysis can be used to track changes in forest cover and habitat fragmentation. Additionally, Oko is exploring the development of local level initiatives that can engage local communities in helping Oko monitor biodiversity, providing valuable data while also promoting conservation, community engagement and education.

One exciting breakthrough technology that could soon be used to help track and quantify biodiversity impact data is the analysis of Environmental DNA, or eDNA. “eDNA is nuclear or mitochondrial DNA that is released from an organism into the environment”. This novel method of analysing biodiversity takes samples from the soil, water and/or the air , sequences the eDNA present and generates millions of lines of data. Over time, the flora and fauna in biodiversity naturally secrete their DNA into the environment, this jumble of DNA is captured in these millions of lines of eDNA data and by analysing this data one can start to piece together the true complexity of the biodiversity in a particular area. eDNA monitoring is non-invasive meaning that eDNA doesn’t need to be collected directly from any one species that would realistically put stress on the organism in question, or its surrounding environment.

In conclusion, quantifying biodiversity data when regrowing indigenous rainforests in West Africa is a complex challenge, but it is essential for protecting and restoring the ecosystem. By understanding the difficulties in capturing this data, we can develop strategies and tools to monitor changes in biodiversity and promote conservation efforts. By utilising the latest technologies, Oko can continuously and proactively adapt its approach to biodiversity monitoring. Ultimately, the restoration of indigenous rainforests is critical for preserving the biodiversity of our planet and mitigating the impact of climate change and finding ways to quantify the qualitative is incredibly important.

‍