Citizen science in marine litter research: A review

Kawabe, Larissa A.; Ghilardi-Lopes, Natália Pirani; Turra, Alexander; Wyles, Kayleigh J.

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114011

Cited by 32 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…COLLECT covered the geographic area of West and North Africa, which is under-represented in terms of both citizen science initiatives (Kawabe et al, 2022;Severin et al, 2023) and marine litter data availability (Bergmann et al, 2017), as well as South-East Asia. Most citizen science publications concerning plastic litter initiatives have focused on activities in Europe and North America, while Africa was the continent with the least reported projects (Kawabe et al, 2022;Severin et al, 2023). In this project, we aim to contribute to an increased data availability in these regions, concerning plastic litter.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In many regions, including Africa, this need is noticeable, as the levels of plastic debris reaching coastal areas are still poorly known (Bergmann et al, 2017;Maes and Preston-Whyte, 2023). To address the data gaps in marine plastic litter distribution worldwide, citizen science programs are instrumental in complementing shoreline assessments, and are effective in increasing public awareness of plastic pollution (Kawabe et al, 2022;Severin et al, 2023). For example, the United Nations (UN) has established a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator (SDG 14.1.1.b) on plastic debris density, and monitoring parameters (Level2: Beach Litter) should include beach litter and microplastics data collected by citizen scientists in surveys, to assist countries in establishing baseline levels (United Nations, 2022a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Citizen science initiatives for the observation of plastic litter can actively involve the public in the scientific research process, bringing significant benefits for both the citizens and the researchers (GESAMP, 2019;Garcia-Soto et al, 2021;Kawabe et al, 2022;Severin et al, 2023). The development of clear sampling methodologies, which include quality control and quality assurance, transparency of data management, and sharing principles, contribute to the acquisition of high-quality data and the establishment of interoperability standards in citizen science outputs (de Rijck et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, participating in citizen science activities can have a positive effect on well-being, particularly in terms of eudaimonic well-being, in which the activity is perceived as meaningful and in line with the participant's values (Wyles et al, 2017). Within citizen science initiatives related to plastic pollution, the evaluation of these benefits is increasing (Hartley et al, 2015;Locritani et al, 2019;Wichmann et al, 2022), but still remains limited (Kawabe et al, 2022;Severin et al, 2023), despite the increasing concern from the public on plastic pollution related issues (Catarino et al, 2021a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Addressing data gaps in marine litter distribution: Citizen science observation of plastics in coastal ecosystems by high-school students

et al. 2023

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The Citizen Observation of Local Litter in coastal ECosysTems (COLLECT) project (2021-2022) is a citizen science initiative, supported by the Partnership for Observation of the Global Ocean (POGO), which aimed to acquire distribution and abundance data of coastal plastic litter in seven countries: in Africa (Benin, Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Morocco, Nigeria) and Asia (Malaysia). In this paper, we describe the workflow used to establish and run this project, as well as the methodologies to acquire data. The COLLECT project consisted of training local students (15 - 18 years old) from ten second cycle institutions (“high schools”) on sampling and analyzing macro-, meso- and microplastics in beach sediments, using a quantitative assessment protocol. We further describe in detail the methodologies applied in assessing the impact of participating in the activities from a social sciences perspective. All documents and materials resulting from this project will be open access and available according to the FAIR Principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable). The results and outcomes from COLLECT will contribute to expanding knowledge and establishing baseline information on coastal plastic pollution, with citizen science being an enabler of open science, allowing data to be freely available to the public, academics and policymakers. Expected results from the use of the COLLECT protocol globally will further contribute to the identification of hotspots of coastal plastic litter, and bring awareness to local communities on the potential consequences of plastic pollution. The COLLECT project actively contributes with data suitable to survey plastic litter to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), in particular to SDG 14, on the sustainable use of the ocean.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Addressing data gaps in marine litter distribution: Citizen science observation of plastics in coastal ecosystems by high-school students

et al. 2023

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“…The Plastic Pirates are one among many citizen science initiatives investigating anthropogenic, and especially plastic litter: notable large-scale and international examples include the International Coastal Cleanup (Ocean Conservancy, 2022), Marine Litter Watch (EEA, 2022), the Marine Debris Tracker (Jambeck and Johnsen, 2015), and International Pellet Watch (Ogata et al, 2009). Citizen scientists have contributed substantially to our knowledge about plastic pollution (Hidalgo-Ruz and Thiel, 2015;Zettler et al, 2017;Kawabe et al, 2022). This global problem has reached unparalleled dimensions (Eriksen et al, 2023) with severe impacts to the wellbeing of natural environments (MacLeod et al, 2021), and it is expected that the scale of the problem will further intensify (Borrelle et al, 2020).…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Sharing communication insights of the citizen science program Plastic Pirates—best practices from 7 years of engaging schoolchildren and teachers in plastic pollution research

Dittmann,

Kiessling,

Mederake

et al. 2023

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Engaging the general public in research processes through citizen science allows for innovative scientific studies and makes science accessible to the general public. Effective communication strategies are crucial for the success of such initiatives. The citizen science program Plastic Pirates investigated the plastic pollution of rivers and implemented a variety of communication strategies with participating schoolchildren, teachers, and youth groups (e.g., sport associations, scouts or educational vacation programs, representing approximately 6% of participating groups). These were continuously revised and adapted since its start in 2016. Without time-efficient communication and strategies to keep track of conversations, it would not have been possible to achieve the scientific and educational goals of the program, i.e., to help teachers increase the environmental awareness and scientific literacy of their schoolchildren, and to produce peer-reviewed articles based on the collected citizen science data. Communication within the Plastic Pirates program was divided into four distinct phases: 1) recruiting and motivating participants, 2) coordination and guidance of participants, 3) data reception and revision, and 4) sharing updates and results. Some of the obstacles that had to be overcome to achieve successful communication were e.g., time constraints to obtaining scientific data from the participants, the time lag between the active involvement of the participants and the actual data analysis and publication of results, and limited personnel resources available for communication efforts. Our recommendations for other citizen science practitioners include regular and transparent communication with the participants regarding their contribution, the use of adequate and various communication channels, shifting the workload from the participants to the coordinating team of a citizen science initiative, as well as offering feedback on the research findings to the citizen scientists, thereby disseminating the results of the program.

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