Citizen Science in the Field: Co-experimentation at Pilot Scale for Sustainable Use of Natural Resources

Abstract

Natural resource management is a cross-sectoral topic, as reflected by its inclusion in several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (e.g., SDGs 2, 6, 12, 15). In the study area on Bangka Island, Indonesia, agriculture is a pillar of local food security and livelihoods, making restoration of degraded lands also a local issue. The present study aims at restoring degraded land after tin mining and at restoring the natural soil base rendering it more suitable for agriculture. We use co-experimentation with citizens as a tool to develop options for re-habilitation at a pilot scale. The recruitment process in this study was reversed insofar as local citizens were at the origin of the project idea. Consequently, buy-in was high among local stakeholders. This set to increase the probability of successfully scaling up effective and actionable practices that were developed during co-experimentation at both local and regional levels. Co-experimentation provided a platform for exchange between local citizens and scientists. Citizens did not need to learn new skills to be able to participate in the scientific process and could autonomously evaluate results. We see involvement of citizens in this type of scientific projects not only as feasible, but as rewarding for all involved partners and as beneficial for the project outcomes. In light of the call for partnerships to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we can only recommend investing in communication and relationship building to work together on better solutions to the challenges we face.

The Advantages of Decentralized Government from the Viewpoint of Public Service Innovation

“…The result could be better utilization of existing resources and the introduction of novel public services (Sima et al, 2020a). Third, decentralization can encourage more citizen input into public service planning and delivery (Bednarska-Olejniczak et al, 2019).More citizen buy-in and pride in their government's services is a win-win (Kral et al, 2020).…”

Recent contributions of citizen science on sustainability policies: A critical review

“…A similar interest in CS was also expressed by UN Environment -the custodian agency for 26 of the environmentrelated SDG indicators -which is exploring CS among new data sources, because of its potential to contribute to global and local level SDG monitoring. [37] [49,50], goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) [51] and goal 2 (Zero Hunger) [52]. Other authors highlight mismatches between SDG monitoring needs and datasets produced through CS activity, suggesting measures to maximize the potential of CS data to contribute -quantitatively and qualitatively -to the SDG framework [53,54,55,56,57,58].…”

Post-Tin-Mining Agricultural Soil Regeneration Using Local Organic Amendments Improve Nitrogen Fixation and Uptake in a Legume–Cassava Intercropping System

“…Recently, some local farmers have used the post-tin-mining area for agricultural purposes [4]. As a result, crop and nutrient management is critical for increasing productivity and restoring soil fertility on this degraded land.…”