The third AGM of MAMBO took place on 10–12 September 2025 in Leiden, the Netherlands, bringing together more than 30 project partners and experts. Over three days, the meeting provided a platform to exchange knowledge, showcase technological progress, and reflect on the project's actions. The final day concluded with a visit to one of MAMBO's partners and host of the meeting - Naturalis Biodiversity Center.
Unlike previous AGMs, which focused on work package updates, this year’s programme adopted a new approach. Presentations centered on the products and technologies developed within MAMBO, with each session addressing not only technical aspects but also ethical considerations, connections with other initiatives, and cost analyses.
The first day opened at the historic Hortus botanicus Leiden with a warm welcome and a series of presentations that set the tone for an engaging meeting. Christophe Botella (CIRAD) shared insights on habitat extent monitoring using satellite data, followed by Niels Raes (Naturalis Biodiversity Center), who provided an overview of MAMBO’s products and their connection to EU biodiversity platforms. Pierre Bonnet (CIRAD) discussed demonstration sites, vegetation monitoring, and end-user needs, while Jes Harfeld (Aarhus University) explored the ethical dimensions of technology in human-nature relations. Presentations also included Tom August (UKCEH) on insect monitoring cameras, Oliver Schweiger (UFZ) on upscaling, costs, and benefits, Burooj Ghani (Naturalis Biodiversity Center) on Bioacoustic-AI, and Jinhu Wang (University of Amsterdam) on tree individualisation using airborne laser scanning data.
Day two built upon this momentum with further insights into technological advances and biodiversity monitoring strategies. Vincent Kalkman (Naturalis Biodiversity Center) presented developments in image and sound recognition for European citizen scientists, while France Gerard (UKCEH) discussed the use of airborne LiDAR and drone imagery for habitat condition monitoring. Niels Raes highlighted MAMBO’s integration with upcoming initiatives, and Pierre Bonnet shared lessons learned from demonstration sites. Daniel Kissling (University of Amsterdam) examined upscaling approaches, Tom Breeze (UKCEH) addressed cost effectiveness in biodiversity monitoring, and Natali Dobreva (Pensoft Publishers) reflected on MAMBO’s visibility and outreach efforts.
The afternoon was dedicated to forward-looking talks on tools and innovations. Presentations included GitHub-based training resources for easier access to MAMBO code, the role of large language models in biodiversity research, and the impact of image recognition on biodiversity data.
The 2025 MAMBO AGM strengthened connections among partners, highlighted the project’s growing impact, and paved the way for the next steps in advancing biodiversity monitoring in Europe.
