Applying the Citizen Science Groundtruth 2.0 methodology in

Africa. The Kenya and Zambia case.

Joan Masó

Mon 29 October Room H

Citizen Science and Citizen Observatories

Citizen Science is the collection and analysis of data relating to the natural world by members of the general public,

typically as part of a collaborative project with professional scientists.

Citizens' Observatories are community-based environmental monitoring and information systems. They

build on innovative and novel Earth observation applications embedded in portable or mobile personal devices. This

means that citizens can help and be engaged in observing our environment.

One of the EC

funded Citizen

Observatories that

goes...

… from citizen-

based data

collection to

knowledge sharing

for joint decision-

making,

cooperative

planning and

environmental

stewardship

©

IHE-Source: Uta Wehn

Business development

CitizenScience

Innovation: the enabler of Citizen Science

Source: Uta Wehn; modified

Social Innovation:societal progress in new ideas,

activities or services concerned with

improving the quality of life,nature and public good in a

consensus process

Technical Innovation: progress in computer networks,

web 2.0, mobile phones, low cost sensors, social media,

interoperability

Co-designing citizen observatories for sustainability

Carefully guided and supported ITERATIVE PROCESS

Series of INTERACTION MOMENTS with key

stakeholders

take their individual and

collectiveneeds

evolving a CO with a shared purposeand enabled by

suitable and tailored ICT-based tools

sustainable CO with agreed

impacts

Validated by the Ground Truth 2.0 project in 6 demonstration cases

Adaptable to different geographical contexts, social settings and thematic issues

demonstration cases

Where and who

• In Kenya Maasai Mara region stakeholders involved in these areas need reliable data on which to make daily decisions.

• Citizens play a key role in helping fill data gaps in Biodiversity, Livelihood and Water

Biodiversity

Conservation

KENYAN CO

www.mara.info.ke

Why

• The vision of the Maasai Mara Citizen Observatory is to have a society in which all stakeholders are working together to ensure the balance between sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity management in the Mara ecosystem.

Biodiversity

Conservation

KENYAN CO

www.mara.info.ke

How

• The citizen observatory has an Android app and a website. The app allows citizens (local and tourists) to collect key data from the field ranging from biodiversity sightings, to human wildlife conflict locations to the updating of fences and roads. Also, the observatory app and website include details on available forage for livestock and wildlife in different conservancies at different periods of time.

• This is a very useful indicator for how green the conservancies are, and can help reduce human-wildlife conflict that results from, among other things, limited amount of forage.

Biodiversity

Conservation

KENYAN CO

www.mara.info.ke

Biodiversity

Conservation

KENYAN CO

www.mara.info.ke

Where and who

• In Zambia, Niti Luli is designing a platform to support the work of existing Village Action Groups (VAG) and Community Resource Boards (CRB), a structure mandated under the Wildlife Law to realize a community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) approach. The CRBSesheke West was selected for the initial pilot activities which will be scaled-up to more CRBs.

ZAMBIAN CO

Community-based natural resources management

Why

• The local stakeholders decided that the citizen observatory should serve to overcome a lack of accountability, coordination and communication between different governance levels, and especially the lack of involvement of local stakeholders in the planning and implementation of programmes.

• Together with failure of projects to deliver tangible benefits responsive to community needs, funding restrictions and logistical challenges, this challenge limits the benefits of sustainable resource management.

• This undermines local trust in conservation efforts and leads to continuous natural resource degradation that makes communities poorer.

ZAMBIAN CO

Community-based natural resources management

What

• Niti Luli’s mission is to provide the virtual space for a ‘permanent community meeting’ of local communities, government agencies, NGOs and donors, and to simplify communication and sharing of information to make natural resource management responsive to community needs.

ZAMBIAN CO

Community-based natural resources management

Unande Ltd. and Tahmo weather stations

Thanks

Joan Masó

市民 科学Shimin kagakuCitizen Science