The International Barcode of Life (iBOL), a research alliance aimed at illuminating biodiversity by developiong globally accessible, DNA-based systems for the discovery and identification of all multicellular life, recently published this article, "How a Tropical Country Can DNA Barcode Itself." The article, which was written by GDFCF co-founders, Drs. Dan Janzen and Winnie Hallwachs, introduces BioAlfa and details what it means for Costa Rica and the world.
"In short," Dan and Winnie write, "BioAlfa is engaging in the technically straightforward task of DNA barcoding an entire tropical country so as to set it up for being sustainably wanted as wild organisms by its own country. This is simultaneously a massively complex collage of technical science embedded in an omnipresent biopolitical socioeconomic context. BioAlfa will only be achievable when actually carried out by the future owners and caretakers of their country, with support from appropriate international collaborations."
Read the full article here.