This interactive workshop will bring together eDNA researchers and practitioners who work in the Global South or remote areas so that we can better understand how international standards for eDNA could support or hinder their conservation and biodiversity work.

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a rapidly emerging technology that has the potential to support environmental monitoring and biodiversity assessment for conservatin around the world. Current efforts to create standards for eDNA methods and data are aimed at supporting the uptake of the technology, however, this must be done in the context of diverse contexts around the world. For example, researchers working with eDNA in the Global South or in remote areas may not have access to the same materials and technologies as those in countries with more access. The eDNA Collaborative, a program aimed at broadening the use of eDNA, is investigating how these standards might support, or hinder, access to and use of eDNA in routine conservation practice. This workshop will bring together eDNA researchers and practitioners to facilitate a conversation around the potentials and concerns of eDNA standards and standardization. We will be conducting a 2-hour workshop that will include methods from the field of human-centered design, aimed at eliciting user experiences of eDNA workflows from sample collection to data and bioinformatics. The results of the workshop will form the basis of a report for those working to standardize eDNA methods. Please join us to share your own experiences and perspectives so that we can collaborate to ensure that eDNA technologies and tools are accessible to scientists and biodiversity conservation efforts worldwide.