eDNA, environmental knowledge and biodiversity governance

“The molecular residues of non-human species float and seep through air, water, and soil. Previously disregarded, in recent years increasing numbers of ecologists have begun to harvest this environmental DNA, or eDNA, in order to identify an ecosystem’s inhabitants. Funded by backers who are seeking to create commanding positions in this new form of ‘bioinformation’, eDNA technology is producing remarkable results – and both academic researchers and entrepreneurs are making some remarkable promises. The technology is celebrated as “conservation in a cup of water”, a “revolutionary” approach that can generate biodiversity data “out of thin air”. eDNA, the subtext reads, is more than merely a new form of monitoring – it has the capacity to fundamentally reshape how we ‘see’ biodiversity and imagine its futures.

Using a mix of interviews, discourse analysis and lab-based ethnography, this doctoral project examines how eDNA is shaping contemporary environmental governance across different societal actors. The overarching ambition is to connect these practices with their socio-ecological outcomes. The research focusses on the English context, with extensive fieldwork taking place in and around Oxfordshire. Nevertheless, the critical approach is designed to maintain relevance for the UK as a whole.

The inquiry is structured around three central research questions:
1. Which understandings of nature underpin eDNA-derived biodiversity data?
2. How does eDNA technology shape biodiversity knowledge practices?
3. How does the exploitation of eDNA contribute to particular modes of environmental governance?”