The Role of Citizen Science in Landscape and Seascape Approaches to Integrating Conservation and Development
Initiatives to manage landscapes for both biodiversity protection and sustainable development commonly employ participatory methods to exploit the knowledge of citizens. We review five examples of citizen groups engaging with landscape scale conservation initiatives to contribute their knowledge, co...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2015-12-01
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| Series: | Land |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/4/4/1200 |
| _version_ | 1818140571505524736 |
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| author | Jeffrey Sayer Chris Margules Iris Bohnet Agni Boedhihartono Ray Pierce Allan Dale Kate Andrews |
| author_facet | Jeffrey Sayer Chris Margules Iris Bohnet Agni Boedhihartono Ray Pierce Allan Dale Kate Andrews |
| author_sort | Jeffrey Sayer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Initiatives to manage landscapes for both biodiversity protection and sustainable development commonly employ participatory methods to exploit the knowledge of citizens. We review five examples of citizen groups engaging with landscape scale conservation initiatives to contribute their knowledge, collect data for monitoring programs, study systems to detect patterns, and test hypotheses on aspects of landscape dynamics. Three are from landscape interventions that deliberately target biodiversity conservation and aim to have sustainable development as a collateral outcome. The other two are driven primarily by concerns for agricultural sustainability with biodiversity conservation as a collateral outcome. All five include programs in which, management agencies support data collection by citizen groups to monitor landscape changes. Situations where citizen groups self-organise to collect data and interpret data to aid in landscape scale decision making are less common and are restricted to landscapes where the inhabitants have a high level of scientific literacy. Given the complexity of landscape processes and the multiple decision makers who influence landscape outcomes we argue that citizen science broadly defined should be an essential element of landscape scale initiatives. Conservation managers should create space for citizen engagement in science and should empower citizen groups to experiment, learn, and adapt their decision-making to improve landscape scale outcomes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-11T10:46:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-72d3f960c0344f769dedcd05d78f73db |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-445X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-11T10:46:06Z |
| publishDate | 2015-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Land |
| spelling | doaj.art-72d3f960c0344f769dedcd05d78f73db2022-12-22T01:10:27ZengMDPI AGLand2073-445X2015-12-01441200121210.3390/land4041200land4041200The Role of Citizen Science in Landscape and Seascape Approaches to Integrating Conservation and DevelopmentJeffrey Sayer0Chris Margules1Iris Bohnet2Agni Boedhihartono3Ray Pierce4Allan Dale5Kate Andrews6Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, P.O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, AustraliaCentre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, P.O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, AustraliaCentre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, P.O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, AustraliaCentre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Marine and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, P.O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, AustraliaKuranda Envirocare, Kuranda, QLD 4881, AustraliaThe Cairns Institute, James Cook University, P.O. Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, AustraliaThe Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Linnaeus Way, Canberra, ACT 2601, AustraliaInitiatives to manage landscapes for both biodiversity protection and sustainable development commonly employ participatory methods to exploit the knowledge of citizens. We review five examples of citizen groups engaging with landscape scale conservation initiatives to contribute their knowledge, collect data for monitoring programs, study systems to detect patterns, and test hypotheses on aspects of landscape dynamics. Three are from landscape interventions that deliberately target biodiversity conservation and aim to have sustainable development as a collateral outcome. The other two are driven primarily by concerns for agricultural sustainability with biodiversity conservation as a collateral outcome. All five include programs in which, management agencies support data collection by citizen groups to monitor landscape changes. Situations where citizen groups self-organise to collect data and interpret data to aid in landscape scale decision making are less common and are restricted to landscapes where the inhabitants have a high level of scientific literacy. Given the complexity of landscape processes and the multiple decision makers who influence landscape outcomes we argue that citizen science broadly defined should be an essential element of landscape scale initiatives. Conservation managers should create space for citizen engagement in science and should empower citizen groups to experiment, learn, and adapt their decision-making to improve landscape scale outcomes.http://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/4/4/1200landscape approachesconservation and development trade-offsintegrated landscape managementsocial learningbiodiversity surveys and monitoring |
| spellingShingle | Jeffrey Sayer Chris Margules Iris Bohnet Agni Boedhihartono Ray Pierce Allan Dale Kate Andrews The Role of Citizen Science in Landscape and Seascape Approaches to Integrating Conservation and Development Land landscape approaches conservation and development trade-offs integrated landscape management social learning biodiversity surveys and monitoring |
| title | The Role of Citizen Science in Landscape and Seascape Approaches to Integrating Conservation and Development |
| title_full | The Role of Citizen Science in Landscape and Seascape Approaches to Integrating Conservation and Development |
| title_fullStr | The Role of Citizen Science in Landscape and Seascape Approaches to Integrating Conservation and Development |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Role of Citizen Science in Landscape and Seascape Approaches to Integrating Conservation and Development |
| title_short | The Role of Citizen Science in Landscape and Seascape Approaches to Integrating Conservation and Development |
| title_sort | role of citizen science in landscape and seascape approaches to integrating conservation and development |
| topic | landscape approaches conservation and development trade-offs integrated landscape management social learning biodiversity surveys and monitoring |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/4/4/1200 |
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