ISTANBUL

The Netherlands has launched an ambitious national program to map and barcode every known plant, animal, and fungal species in the country, aiming to create one of the most comprehensive DNA libraries in the world, local media reported on Tuesday.

The initiative, known as ARISE, was developed by the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in partnership with the University of Amsterdam, the University of Twente, and the Westerdijk Institute, the national news broadcaster NOS reported.

Backed by a multi-million-euro government grant, the project will assign DNA barcodes to all 49,000 known species across the Netherlands to help scientists monitor biodiversity and track environmental change.

Naturalis Climate Editor Charlotte Klein reported that the ARISE database, officially launched this week, already contains barcodes for 84% of plant species, 76% of animals, and 44% of fungi recorded in the country.

Researchers are combining AI-powered analysis, smart cameras, radar data, and audio recordings to study species in the wild, while some 200 citizen scientists assist in collecting specimens.

Once samples are gathered, they are sent to Naturalis, where they are photographed, stored, and their DNA is sequenced and labeled.

Program Manager Elaine van Ommen Kloeke said the project will help answer critical ecological questions. “We’re very keen to know how nature and specific species are doing. This program can tell us who’s eating whom, how populations are changing, and how healthy our ecosystems are. It’s a major step toward protecting nature more effectively.”

The ARISE project is already being used to assess how ecosystems recover from human impact, such as the effects of fencing off dunes to reduce grazing by fallow deer or evaluating the influence of offshore wind farms on marine life.

Emiel van Loon, a scientist at the University of Amsterdam, said the project also saves time and resources.

“Where a scientist used to spend days identifying animals in hundreds of photos, AI can now do the same work in 10 minutes,” he noted.

The long-term goal is to link ARISE with international DNA databases to enable global biodiversity tracking and data exchange.

Van Ommen Kloeke emphasized that the work is ongoing as new species continue to be discovered.

“It’s essential that lesser-known species are included, so we don’t end up with another database full of only the familiar ones.”