2 research outputs found
Citizen science can improve conservation science, natural resource management, and environmental protection
Citizen science has advanced science for hundreds of years, contributed to many peer-reviewed articles, and informed
land management decisions and policies across the United States. Over the last 10 years, citizen science
has grown immensely in the United States and many other countries. Here, we show how citizen science is a
powerful tool for tackling many of the challenges faced in the field of conservation biology. We describe the
two interwoven paths bywhich citizen science can improve conservation efforts, natural resource management,
and environmental protection. The first path includes building scientific knowledge, while the other path involves
informing policy and encouraging public action. We explore how citizen science is currently used and describe
the investments needed to create a citizen science program. We find that:
1. Citizen science already contributes substantially to many domains of science, including conservation, natural
resource, and environmental science. Citizen science informs natural resource management, environmental
protection, and policymaking and fosters public input and engagement.
2. Many types of projects can benefit fromcitizen science, but one must be careful tomatch the needs for science
and public involvement with the right type of citizen science project and the right method of public
participation.
3. Citizen science is a rigorous process of scientific discovery, indistinguishable from conventional science apart
from the participation of volunteers.When properly designed, carried out, and evaluated, citizen science can
provide sound science, efficiently generate high-quality data, and help solve problems