Between 6 and 7 October, the Kliment’s Days Conference took place, focusing on academic excellence and innovation. The event, organised by the Faculty of Biology at Sofia University, aims to bring together leading scientists, researchers, and young scholars from around the world. This year’s edition continued a distinguished tradition of interdisciplinary dialogue, cutting-edge discoveries, and meaningful collaboration.

Stefaniya Kamenova, a member of BgBOL, delivered an oral presentation titled “A Roadmap for Scaling up DNA-Based Biodiversity Monitoring in Bulgaria.” In her talk, she guided the audience through the challenges and opportunities of using DNA barcoding as a biodiversity monitoring approach.

Kamenova discussed the limitations of traditional monitoring methods, which have highlighted the need for innovation - particularly in smaller countries such as Bulgaria. Despite its limited capacity, Bulgaria lies within the Balkan biodiversity hotspot, making effective monitoring especially crucial.

To address these challenges, she emphasized the role of recent advances in molecular techniques, metabarcoding, and environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis. These approaches offer powerful tools for large-scale biodiversity assessments, enabling researchers to track population dynamics over time and detect long-term trends. Encouragingly, the costs of these technologies are decreasing, making them increasingly accessible. Such innovations could also support efforts to tackle pressing ecological issues, such as the detection and management of invasive species.

Another key challenge in biodiversity research, Kamenova noted, is the limited availability, standardization, and reusability of biodiversity data. Effective monitoring relies on a strong culture of integration and collaboration, supported by citizen science initiatives such as iNaturalist. When participants are well-guided and coordinated, such platforms can make valuable contributions to biodiversity datasets.

This is where BgBOL’s role becomes central. Organizations like BgBOL help align efforts, define common goals, and promote the adoption of data-sharing standards, ensuring that biodiversity data can be effectively leveraged for research and conservation.

While metabarcoding and eDNA are powerful tools, Kamenova also cautioned that they come with inherent biases and limitations. Understanding these biases and identifying potential gaps in detection are essential steps toward improving the accuracy and robustness of biodiversity assessments.