Case Study: AtkinsRéalis enhances biodiversity assessment in Mongolia with NatureMetrics eDNA

AtkinsRéalis detects 19 fish taxa with NatureMetrics eDNA in Mongolia

AtkinsRéalis, a world-class engineering services organization, was tasked with conducting an Environmental and Social Impact Appraisal for an irrigation infrastructure project in Mongolia. Their challenge was to establish a credible baseline of fish biodiversity in remote, data-poor rivers to assess risks and meet stringent environmental requirements from a multilateral development bank. They engaged NatureMetrics to utilize its eDNA service to enhance traditional survey methods.

NatureMetrics provided aquatic environmental DNA (eDNA) kits for water sampling at various points along the river systems. The samples were processed in its UK lab using fish metabarcoding. The solution successfully identified 19 fish taxa, including three regionally vulnerable or near-threatened species, and detected four additional species that traditional electric fishing surveys had entirely missed. This evidence allowed AtkinsRéalis and the bank to design targeted mitigation and strengthened the project's compliance case, positioning NatureMetrics' eDNA approach as a template for future work in remote regions.

AtkinsRéalis