A review of citizen science and community-based environmental monitoring: issues and opportunities
01 May 2011-Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (Springer Netherlands)-Vol. 176, Iss: 1, pp 273-291
TL;DR: A need to compare and contrast the success (and the situations that induce success) of CBM programs which present sound evidence of citizen scientists influencing positive environmental changes in the local ecosystems they monitor is identified.
Abstract: Worldwide, decision-makers and nongovernment organizations are increasing their use of citizen volunteers to enhance their ability to monitor and manage natural resources, track species at risk, and conserve protected areas. We reviewed the last 10 years of relevant citizen science literature for areas of consensus, divergence, and knowledge gaps. Different community-based monitoring (CBM) activities and governance structures were examined and contrasted. Literature was examined for evidence of common benefits, challenges, and recommendations for successful citizen science. Two major gaps were identified: (1) a need to compare and contrast the success (and the situations that induce success) of CBM programs which present sound evidence of citizen scientists influencing positive environmental changes in the local ecosystems they monitor and (2) more case studies showing use of CBM data by decision-makers or the barriers to linkages and how these might be overcome. If new research focuses on these gaps, and on the differences of opinions that exist, we will have a much better understanding of the social, economic, and ecological benefits of citizen science.
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971 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors performed a spatially explicit participatory mapping of the complete range of cultural ecosystem services and several disservices perceived by people living in a cultural landscape in Eastern Germany.
865 citations
United States Forest Service1, National Park Service2, University of California, Davis3, Cornell University4, University of Washington5, University of Notre Dame6, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill7, University of Wisconsin–Extension8, United States Geological Survey9, University of Maryland, College Park10, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources11, State University of New York System12, University of Alaska Fairbanks13, Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University14, United States Environmental Protection Agency15
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the two interwoven paths by which citizen science can improve conservation efforts, natural resource management, and environmental protection, and describe the investments needed to create a citizen science program.
646 citations
Cites background from "A review of citizen science and com..."
...Data integrity is achieved through standardized sampling procedures that are the same for all sampling locations and effort-controlled so that zeros are recorded even if nothing is found (Conrad and Hilchey, 2011; Danielsen et al., 2005a; Sullivan et al., 2009)....
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...They can answer questions like, is this species here now? Or how many individuals of this species are here? Citizen science can also monitor ecosystem functions and answer, for example, is this process happening now? Data integrity is achieved through standardized sampling procedures that are the same for all sampling locations and effort-controlled so that zeros are recorded even if nothing is found (Conrad and Hilchey, 2011; Danielsen et al., 2005a; Sullivan et al., 2009)....
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TL;DR: Each citizen-science dataset should be judged individually, according to project design and application, and not assumed to be substandard simply because volunteers generated it.
Abstract: Ecological and environmental citizen-science projects have enormous potential to advance scientific knowledge, influence policy, and guide resource management by producing datasets that would otherwise be infeasible to generate. However, this potential can only be realized if the datasets are of high quality. While scientists are often skeptical of the ability of unpaid volunteers to produce accurate datasets, a growing body of publications clearly shows that diverse types of citizen-science projects can produce data with accuracy equal to or surpassing that of professionals. Successful projects rely on a suite of methods to boost data accuracy and account for bias, including iterative project development, volunteer training and testing, expert validation, replication across volunteers, and statistical modeling of systematic error. Each citizen-science dataset should therefore be judged individually, according to project design and application, and not assumed to be substandard simply because volunteers generated it.
519 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors used the Essential Biodiversity Variable framework to describe the range of biodiversity data needed to track progress towards global biodiversity targets, and assessed strengths and gaps in geographical and taxonomic coverage.
460 citations
References
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TL;DR: The term social capital captures the idea that social bonds and norms are critical for sustainability, where social capital is high in formalized groups, people have the confidence to invest in collective activities, knowing that others will do so too.
Abstract: The proposition that natural resources need protection from the destructive actions of people is widely accepted. Yet communities have shown in the past and increasingly today that they can collaborate for long-term resource management. The term social capital captures the idea that social bonds and norms are critical for sustainability. Where social capital is high in formalized groups, people have the confidence to invest in collective activities, knowing that others will do so too. Some 0.4 to 0.5 million groups have been established since the early 1990s for watershed, forest, irrigation, pest, wildlife, fishery, and microfinance management. These offer a route to sustainable management and governance of common resources.
1,443 citations
"A review of citizen science and com..." refers background in this paper
...Pretty (2003) reported that since the 1990s, up to 500,000 new local groups were established in varying environmental and social contexts....
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...Pretty (2003) reported that since the 1990s, up to 500,000 new local groups were established in varying environmental and social contexts....
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TL;DR: This paper presents an innovative use of the Internet and information technologies that better enhances the opportunity for citizens to contribute their observations to science and the conservation of bird populations.
1,371 citations
"A review of citizen science and com..." refers background in this paper
...The UK’ Breeding Bird Survey involves tens of thousands of participants annually (Sullivan et al. 2009)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the role of frames and boundary management in processes of learning at different levels and time scales is investigated, based on conceptual considerations and empirical insights, suggest that the development of such institutional settings involves continued processes of social learning.
Abstract: Natural resources management in general, and water resources management in particular, are currently undergoing a major paradigm shift. Management practices have largely been developed and implemented by experts using technical means based on designing systems that can be predicted and controlled. In recent years, stakeholder involvement has gained increasing importance. Collaborative governance is considered to be more appropriate for integrated and adaptive management regimes needed to cope with the complexity of social-ecological systems. The paper presents a concept for social learning and collaborative governance developed in the European project HarmoniCOP (Harmonizing COllaborative Planning). The concept is rooted in the more interpretive strands of the social sciences emphasizing the context dependence of knowledge. The role of frames and boundary management in processes of learning at different levels and time scales is investigated. The foundation of social learning as investigated in the HarmoniCOP project is multiparty collaboration processes that are perceived to be the nuclei of learning processes. Such processes take place in networks or “communities of practice” and are influenced by the governance structure in which they are embedded. Requirements for social learning include institutional settings that guarantee some degree of stability and certainty without being rigid and inflexible. Our analyses, which are based on conceptual considerations and empirical insights, suggest that the development of such institutional settings involves continued processes of social learning. In these processes, stakeholders at different scales are connected in flexible networks that allow them to develop the capacity and trust they need to collaborate in a wide range of formal and informal relationships ranging from formal legal structures and contracts to informal, voluntary agreements.
1,135 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that the farmland bird indicator is a useful surrogate for trends in other elements of biodiversity in this habitat, and developed statistical methods to calculate supranational, multi-species indices using population data from national annual breeding bird surveys in Europe.
Abstract: The global pledge to deliver ‘a significant reduction in the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010’ is echoed in a number of regional and national level targets. There is broad consensus, however, that in the absence of conservation action, biodiversity will continue to be lost at a rate unprecedented in the recent era. Remarkably, we lack a basic system to measure progress towards these targets and, in particular, we lack standard measures of biodiversity and procedures to construct and assess summary statistics. Here, we develop a simple classification of biodiversity indicators to assist their development and clarify purpose. We use European birds, as example taxa, to show how robust indicators can be constructed and how they can be interpreted. We have developed statistical methods to calculate supranational, multi-species indices using population data from national annual breeding bird surveys in Europe. Skilled volunteers using standardized field methods undertake data collection where methods and survey designs differ slightly across countries. Survey plots tend to be widely distributed at a national level, covering many bird species and habitats with reasonable representation. National species' indices are calculated using log-linear regression, which allows for plot turnover. Supranational species' indices are constructed by combining the national species' indices weighted by national population sizes of each species. Supranational, multi-species indicators are calculated by averaging the resulting indices. We show that common farmland birds in Europe have declined steeply over the last two decades, whereas woodland birds have not. Evidence elsewhere shows that the main driver of farmland bird declines is increased agricultural intensification. We argue that the farmland bird indicator is a useful surrogate for trends in other elements of biodiversity in this habitat.
847 citations
"A review of citizen science and com..." refers background in this paper
...It has been suggested that information collected by community groups is not taken seriously by decision-makers due to questions regarding the credibility, non-comparability and completeness of the data ( Gouveia et al. 2004; Bradshaw 2003)....
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... Gouveia et al. (2004) provides detailed recommendations to overcome and address issues of data credibility, non-comparability of results, and data completeness....
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...Recommendations to overcome challenges have been outlined by some researchers (Whitelaw et al. 2003; Legg and Nagy 2006; Gouveia et al. 2004, etc.)....
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01 Jan 2012
TL;DR: In 2018, the Finnish economy grew by 1.7 percent as mentioned in this paper, and in the last quarter of the year the growth was no more than 0.1 percent compared to the third quarter.
Abstract: In 2018, the Finnish economy grew by 1.7 percent. According to the quarter-to-quarter figures, the economic growth decelerated, and in the last quarter of the year the growth was no more than 0.1 percent compared to the third quarter. Even though the private consumption still sustained economic growth, the main reason for the economic slowing down was the poor performance of exports, the growth rate of which fell by 6.5 percentage points from the previous year and remained only at 1.1 percent on annual bases. Also, the investment activity slowed down together with the increasing risks and uncertainties concerning global economic environment.
750 citations