Brazil will begin cataloging the DNA of species of trees found in the Amazon and uploading them into a central database in an effort to fight deforestation, according to the government of Brazil.
The interactive DNA database is being planned by The National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA) in collaboration with Center for Natural Biodiversity in the Netherlands, and will be accessible to scientists around the world.
The project is intended in part to aid environmentalists in developing strategies for preserving forests.
Under the Paris Agreement, Brazil committed to end deforestation by 2030, and the country says cataloguing the genetic material of its trees is an “important tool in this process.”
There are approximately 10,000 known species of trees in the Amazon.
