The project looks at the Potential Applicability of Scelio to combat the Desert Locust Problem

Global change is restructuring ecosystems on a planetary scale, creating an urgent need to track impacts on the Earth’s biosphere, which comprises over 10 million species. This is especially critical as the planet faces a potential mass global extinction, involving the loss of an eighth of all species by 2100. Until now, a global bio-observation system has been out of reach, but by using the power of DNA sequencers to discriminate species by reading short stretches of DNA, a solution has emerged. This new approach is revolutionizing our understanding of biodiversity. The work of the BIOSCAN team will be a giant leap forward in tackling the looming species extinction crisis. Over its course, the BIOSCAN project will activate a global bio-surveillance system with participation from experts in diverse fields, ranging from ecological modeling and metagenomics to computer vision and machine learning. Extending technology advances developed by the Canadian-led International Barcode of Life

Viewing the importance of Juniper, the activities of the project aimed at utilizing DNA barcoding to documenting the herbal flora associated with three different juniper ecosystems viz Ziarat, Zarghoon and Herboi located respectively in Ziarat, Quetta and Kalat districts of Balochistan. We documented and barcoded approximately 150 species associated in Juniper ecosystems.

We conducted floral biodiversity assessment studies in four different districts of Balochistan utilizing DNA barcoding techniques complemented by taxonomic studies both in spatial and temporal contexts.. The data generated were submitted to BOLD database.