Exploring Groundwater Biodiversity: SURCO Completes eDNA Fieldwork in Sucre

Between November 2024 and January 2025, we conducted the second round of fieldwork in collaboration with the Universities of La Guajira and Sucre, the regional environmental authority CARSUCRE, and an independent environmental DNA (eDNA) expert based in Sweden.

During this period, environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling campaigns were carried out across 28 groundwater sites in the department of Sucre, Colombia, generating a unique dataset on groundwater biodiversity and ecosystem health. By analysing traces of genetic material found in environmental samples, eDNA methods provide new opportunities to monitor biodiversity and better understand the ecological status of aquatic ecosystems.

The data collected are currently being analysed and will contribute to scientific publications as well as open-access biodiversity databases, supporting future research and evidence-based approaches to groundwater conservation and sustainable water governance.