Arise Biodiversity

The loss of biodiversity is one of the main threats to humanity's survival. But only if we know what is there, we can make an effort to preserve it. For this reason, we urgently need innovation and tools to facilitate species identification and for monitoring of biodiversity. The ARISE programme aims to construct an infrastructure for doing exactly this, for every species in the Netherlands (multicellular species only - for now). This infrastructure will be the first of its kind, and combine novel technology within sampling of specimen,(e)DNA, AI-based recognition, digital monitoring through images, sound and radar data and digital services combining various data sources to answer biodiversity questions. The vision is to make species recognition and biodiversity accessible, facilitating a comprehensive picture of the country's biodiversity. It will bring together many new insights in many biodiversity related fields, including artificial intelligence and data science. This integrated infrastructure and facility will provide Dutch researchers, nature conservation organizations, policy makers, industry, regional water authorities, infrastructure developers, and many more with access to the most advanced near-real-time identification service for species detection and monitoring biodiversity. This, in turn, will yield new opportunities for understanding how ecosystems function. It will identify trends, and ensure that biodiversity recovery receives the necessary attention in solutions for major societal transitions such as towards nature-inclusive cities and agriculture.