Fraisl, D.

Fredua, K.

Gafari, D.

Kobla-Amalgo, T.

McCallum, I.

See, L.

Seidu, O.

Weller, S.

International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)

How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in GhanaLinda See, Dilek Fraisl, Omar Seidu, Kwame Boakye Fredua, Sarah Weller, Tyler Kobla-Amalgo, Dany Gafari, Ian McCallumHow it all began• Citizen science/SDG mapping work led by Dilek Fraisl• Project funded by UN SDSN Trends to facilitate use of citizen science by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) for SDG monitoring – led by Dilek Fraisl• First part of the project was to identify potential indicators and areas of interest from the GSS2 |  How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in GhanaFraisl, D., Campbell, J., See, L. et al. Mapping citizen science contributions to the UN sustainable development goals. Sustain Sci 15, 1735–1751 (2020). Marine plastic pollution• Marine plastic pollution is a serious, global problem but one that adversely affects Ghana, so this was a clear area of interest by the GSS but also Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)• Hence, the focus turned to SDG indicator 14.1.1.b on plastic debris density• Already established networks of dedicated citizen scientists collecting litter and conducting beach cleanups using protocols from the International Coastal Cleanup/Ocean Conservancy3  |  How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in Ghana@Smart Nature Freaks Youth Volunteers FoundationData collection forms4  |  How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in GhanaActors/platforms involved in the processProject Partners• Environmental Protection Agency Ghana• Ghana Statistical Service• International Coastal Cleanup (ICC)• Smart Nature Freaks Youth Volunteer Foundation• UNEP• Woodrow Wilson International Center for ScholarsActors involved in Policy Roundtable• Ghana Ministry of Environment Science Technology and Innovations• Ghana Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development• Ghana Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources• Ghana Ministry of Planning• Ghana National Development Planning CommissionPlatforms• Global Earth Challenge Marine Litter Data Integration Platform• Trash Information & Data for Education & Solutions (TIDES) Database• UN SDG Global Database5  |  How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in GhanaThe process of citizen science data integration on marine litter for SDG indicator 14.1.1b reporting6  |  How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in GhanaSource: Fraisl et al. (2023)Most frequently found items• Plastic and foam pieces• Cigarette butts• Plastic bottles and bottle caps• Take away containers (plastic and foam) and plastic lids• Plastic cups and cutlery• Straws• Diapers• PPE (from 2021 onwards)• Tires@Smart Nature Freaks Youth Volunteers Foundation7  |  How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in GhanaThe officially reported values for indicator 14.1.1b Number of plastic items per square kilometer of beach, reported by Ghana2016 2017 2018 2019 202014.1.1b Ghana validated beach litter data33,579,283 56,875,108Not Reported179,760,103 152,134,672Number of CSOs Contributing to the Data2 1Not reported2 3Number of Beach Cleanups 2 7Not reported11 38  |  How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in GhanaChecklist of actionsthat can be used byother countries interested inreplicating this approachWhy was this successful?• National legislation that recognizes the value of citizen science data• GESAMP guidelines that recommend use of citizen science data for SDG monitoring of plastic pollution• Political will within Ghana (GSS, EPA) and recognition of the value beyond SDG reporting → input to Ghana’s Integrated Coastal and Marine Management Policy• Engagement of national and international stakeholders including the custodian agency for this SDG indicator (UNEP)• Existing network of citizens engaged in marine litter collection following international protocols for data collection• Strong project leadership10  |  How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in GhanaSome lessons learned• Rather than the time- and resource-intensive process of designing a digital mobile app from scratch, used off-the-shelf solutions such as data collection cards and CleanSwell, requiring fewer resources to implement and enabling the reuse of historical data• Such a project can influence protocols, leading to a change in Ocean Conservancy’s data collection to make it more usable for SDG reporting• By tapping into Smart Nature Freaks Youth Volunteers and Plastic Punch, who are already established and sustainable networks, data could be efficiently compiled as a by-product of existing activities• Importance of creating time and space for the government, international organizations and NGOs to meet, in order to build trust, common goals and ownership over the results11  |  How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in Ghana@Smart Nature Freaks Youth Volunteers Foundation12  |  How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in GhanaFraisl, D., See, L., Bowers, R. et al. The contributions of citizen science to SDG monitoring and reporting on marine plastics. Sustain Sci (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-023-01402-413  |  How Citizen Science has Changed SDG Monitoring of Marine Plastic Pollution in Ghanahttps://dataforchange.net/strengthening-measurement-of-marine-litter-in-GhanaCitizen Science for the SDGs Story MapInternational Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) Schlossplatz 1, A-2361 Laxenburg, Austriaiiasa.ac.at @IIASAViennaiiasa.ac.at/contact @IIASALiveIIASA @iiasaviennaiiasa-viennaThank you! Questions?

How citizen science has changed SDG monitoring of marine plastic pollution in Ghana

https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/19624/1/ECSA2024_LindaSee.pdf

How citizen science has changed SDG monitoring of marine plastic pollution in Ghana

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