Citizen science in developing countries: how to improve volunteer participation

Abstract

Citizen science is a powerful tool for connecting members of the public with research and for obtaining large amounts of data. However, it is far less commonly implemented in developing countries than in developed countries. We conducted a large‐scale citizen‐science program monitoring honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony losses in Argentina to examine how a national consortium composed of local coordinators and two different recruitment strategies influenced volunteer participation. These strategies consisted of online questionnaires and face‐to‐face interviews with beekeepers to record bee health issues. We found that use of both recruitment strategies was necessary because they reached different volunteer profiles and different locations, and therefore influenced the survey's results. Furthermore, public participation increased when the number of local coordinators was higher, regardless of recruitment strategy. These findings could also apply to other developing countries, where lack of internet access for some potential volunteers, logistical constraints such as long distances, and poor infrastructure hamper implementing large‐scale citizen‐science programs.

Can participatory approaches strengthen the monitoring of cyanobacterial blooms in developing countries? Results from a pilot study conducted in the Lagoon Aghien (Ivory Coast)

“…As noted by Requier et al . [ 28 ], the issue of long-term participation and the improvement of volunteer participation is facilitated by key actors (such as sentinels) who can act as intermediaries between scientists and local populations.…”

“…In our experiment, the best contributor as a sentinel was clearly the schoolteacher from the Débarcadère village, who self-planned to conduct multipoint monitoring. As noted by Requier et al [28], the issue of long-term participation and the improvement of volunteer participation is facilitated by key actors (such as sentinels) who can act as intermediaries between scientists and local populations.…”

Editorial: Advances in Biomonitoring for the Sustainability of Vulnerable African Riverine Ecosystems

“…The use of citizen science as an environmental monitoring approach in many African countries is quite limited (Requier et al, 2020)…”

Citizen Science for Bio-indication: Development of a Community-Based Index of Ecosystem Integrity for Assessing the Status of Afrotropical Riverine Ecosystems

“…The approach has among others factors such as cost led to the push toward the inclusion of citizens in stewardship and monitoring of the status of natural resources (Brooks et al, 2005;Mochizuki and Yarime, 2016). While African countries have made a lot progress in this regard, especially on the involvement of communities in top-down decision making, and monitoring and management of natural resources, such as fisheries (Imende et al, 2005;Etiegni et al, 2017), forestry (Crocker et al, 2020), water resources (Bannatyne et al, 2017) and effects of climate change (Tesfahunegn and Gebru, 2020), the development of citizen science as an environmental assessment and monitoring approach is quite limited, and in most cases, it is at its nascent state (Requier et al, 2020).…”