Challenges for biodiversity monitoring using citizen science in transitioning social-ecological systems

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Biodiversity monitoring requires sound data collection over large temporal and spatial scales in order to inform policy and conservation management. Citizen science programmes, if designed appropriately, can make valuable contributions to data collection and analyses. Moreover, citizen science has potential for both environmental education and civic participation. Recommendations on effective citizen science are available in the literature, but most existing work has come from relatively rich, industrialized countries. By contrast, there is very little knowledge on citizen science projects in transitioning economic, social and cultural settings. This paper seeks to adjust this deficit by contributing insights from our attempt to initiate a new monitoring scheme in Romania. We draw on our experience of conducting workshops, training events and camps to strengthen citizen engagement in a butterfly monitoring scheme, and discussions with many stakeholders engaged in other monitoring programmes inside and outside of Europe. We highlight four general themes that are worth considering when initiating new citizen science projects in socio-economically challenging settings: (i) engaging citizens requires a combination of formal and informal support; (ii) a culture of volunteering requires education as well as building capacity and confidence; (iii) citizen science needs active integration of both national experts and local stakeholders; and (iv) successful monitoring schemes require effective leadership. We conclude that particular attention should be paid to the cultural legacies of the target area.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal for Nature Conservation
Volume26
Pages (from-to)45-48
Number of pages4
ISSN1617-1381
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01.07.2015

    Research areas

  • Awareness raising, Butterfly monitoring, Capacity building, Civil Society, Romania, Volunteers
  • Sustainability Science

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Bridging the Gap: Generating a Comprehensive Biomedical Knowledge Graph Question Answering Dataset
  2. Proxy Indicators for the Quality of Open-domain Dialogues
  3. Unveiling local knowledge
  4. Pathways of Data-driven Business Model Design and Realization
  5. Offline question answering over linked data using limited resources
  6. Geodesign as a boundary management process
  7. Life Cycle Assessment of Consumption Patterns – Understanding the links between changing social practices and environmental impacts
  8. Consequences of extreme weather events for developing countries based on the example of Mongolia
  9. Creating Value from in-Vehicle Data
  10. Challenges for biodiversity monitoring using citizen science in transitioning social-ecological systems
  11. Operationalization of the concept of sustainable development on different time scales
  12. Performance incentives in activity-based management
  13. The impact of explicit references in computer supported collaborative learning: Evidence from eye movement analyses
  14. Employing A-B tests for optimizing prices levels in e-commerce applications
  15. Integrating teacher and student workspaces in a technology-enhanced mathematics lecture
  16. Multi-view hidden markov perceptrons
  17. Exploring the dark and unexpected sides of digitalization
  18. Tschick
  19. Probabilistic movement models and zones of control
  20. Decision-making models for Robotic Warehouse
  21. One step forward, two steps back
  22. Performance Saga: Interview 06
  23. A PD Fuzzy Control of a Nonholonomic Car-Like Robot for Drive Assistant Systems
  24. Integrating multiple elements of environmental justice into urban blue space planning using public participation geographic information systems
  25. Sustainable use of ecosystem services under multiple risks
  26. Children's interpretation of ambiguous pronouns based on prior discourse
  27. Organizational practices for the aging workforce
  28. Conditionality of EU funds: an instrument to enforce EU fundamental values?
  29. The micro-processes during repatriate knowledge transfer
  30. Utilization of protein-rich residues in biotechnological processes
  31. Pathways to Implementation: Evidence on How Participation in Environmental Governance Impacts on Environmental Outcomes
  32. Quantifying ecosystem services of rewetted peatlands − the MoorFutures methodologies
  33. Learning Analytics
  34. The Role of Assessment and Quality Management in Transformations towards Sustainable Development
  35. To help or not to help an outgroup member
  36. Mathematics-specific motivations for choosing a mathematics teaching degree study programme
  37. Top-down biological motion perception does not differ between adults scoring high versus low on autism traits
  38. Soil carbon sequestration
  39. Utilizing Synchrotron Radiation for Phase Identification in Mg Alloys
  40. Learning Analytics an Hochschulen