Is fighting with data enough? Prospects for transformative citizen science in the Chinese Anthropocene

Brombal, Daniele

doi:10.1080/09640568.2019.1641071

“…Since air quality seems to have improved to a certain degree-at least according to some new research (e.g., Aunan, Hansen, and Wang 2018)-it is plausible to wonder whether citizens' environmental policy desires might now be decreasing, eclipsed by other material issues such as economic risk management. Such an implication is consistent with the pitfalls highlighted by Brombal (2019), and does not bode well for the future of sustainability in China.…”

Section: Contributions In This Special Issuementioning

confidence: 52%

“…Contrary to what Hsu, Yeo, and Weinfurter (2019) have found, after evaluating a number of China's citizen science practices against the core tenets of "transformative change" developed in the field of sustainable studies, Brombal (2019) argues that although citizen-generated data may have the potential to improve the coverage, frequency, and quality of environmental monitoring in China, they alone are inadequate to bring about radical, substantive changes in environmental governance. Furthermore, the author finds the current practices of citizen science in China to be merely serving the state's vision of anthropogenic and technocratic domination of the environment and nature.…”

Section: Contributions In This Special Issuementioning

confidence: 75%

“…Tarantino (2019) informs us that better technology does not necessarily mean that the barrier to entry for non-state actors is lowered. Similarly, Brombal (2019) and Flatø (2019) caution us that the availability of data and even transparency do not necessarily precipitate an automatic increase in environmental awareness, not to mention the collective actions of citizens and communities. Furthermore, several contributions show that the state continues to be the biggest presence in environmental governance in China.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Information, technology, and digitalization in China’s environmental governance

Kostka

¹

,

Zhang

²

,

Shin

³

2019

Journal of Environmental Planning and Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research on the relationship between information, technology, and environmental governance in the current Information Age has gained momentum in recent years. Nevertheless, much theoretical, empirical, and normative issues remain seriously under-explored. Existing studies also tend to be predominantly based on contexts, experiences, and lessons in advanced democratic societies. What the rapid developments in new information technologies, data, and information networks might mean for environmental politics and governance in non-democratic contexts remains even more elusive. This special issue brings together some of the latest research in the context of contemporary China to shed light on some of these fundamental issues. We argue that the role of information has evolved over time as dominant approaches to environmental regulation have shifted. Yet, findings in this special issue show that how it has manifested in China thus far has been anything but straightforward. While a few parallels can be drawn between advanced democratic countries and China, many of the predictions made about the effects of data and information technologies have not been borne out in China. We raise several questions as a fruitful avenue for further research.

show abstract

“…Since air quality seems to have improved to a certain degree-at least according to some new research (e.g., Aunan, Hansen, and Wang 2018)-it is plausible to wonder whether citizens' environmental policy desires might now be decreasing, eclipsed by other material issues such as economic risk management. Such an implication is consistent with the pitfalls highlighted by Brombal (2019), and does not bode well for the future of sustainability in China.…”

Section: Contributions In This Special Issuementioning

confidence: 52%

Information, Technology, and Digitalization in China’s Environmental Governance

Kostka

¹

,

Zhang²,

Shin

³

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Research on the relationship between information, technology, and environmental governance in the current Information Age has gained momentum in recent years. Nevertheless, much theoretical, empirical, and normative issues remain seriously under-explored. Existing studies also tend to be predominantly based on contexts, experiences, and lessons in advanced democratic societies. What the rapid developments in new information technologies, data, and information networks might mean for environmental politics and governance in non-democratic contexts remains even more elusive. This special issue brings together some of the latest research in the context of contemporary China to shed light on some of these fundamental issues. We argue that the role of information has evolved over time as dominant approaches to environmental regulation have shifted. Yet, findings in this special issue show that how it has manifested in China thus far has been anything but straightforward. While a few parallels can be drawn between advanced democratic countries and China, many of the predictions made about the effects of data and information technologies have not been borne out in China. We raise several questions as a fruitful avenue for further research.

show abstract

“…The most consistent, durable, and visionary among these blueprints has been modelled on the basis of systems thinking as first envisioned by Donella Meadows, one the founders of sustainability science [10]. According to this conceptualization, transformation describes rapid and pervasive change, leveraging mental models (values, mind-sets, worldviews) to generate institutional ruptures across the spheres of norms and rules [11]. This approach has become increasingly influential across vast areas of sustainability science, practice, and activism, complementing the otherwise dominant role of technical and financial fixes to environmental problems.…”

Section: Conceptual Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thinking Like a Mountain: Exploring the Potential of Relational Approaches for Transformative Nature Conservation

Foggin

¹

,

Brombal

²

,

Razmkhah

³

2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Building on a review of current mainstream paradigms of nature conservation, the essence of transformations necessary for effective and lasting change are presented—namely, convivial solutions (or ‘living with others’), in which relationality and an appreciation of our interdependencies are central, in contrast to life-diminishing models of individualism and materialism/secularism. We offer several areas for improvement centred on regenerative solutions, moving beyond conventional environmental protection or biophysical restoration and focusing instead on critical multidimensional relationships—amongst people and between people and the rest of nature. We focus, in particular, on the potential of people’s values and worldviews to inform morality (guiding principles and/or beliefs about right and wrong) and ethics (societal rules defining acceptable behaviour), which alone can nurture the just transformations needed for nature conservation and sustainability at all scales. Finally, we systematize the potential of regenerative solutions against a backdrop of relational approaches in sustainability sciences. In so doing, we contribute to current endeavours of the conservation community for more inclusive conservation, expanding beyond economic valuations of nature and protected areas to include more holistic models of governance that are premised on relationally-oriented value systems.

show abstract

Is fighting with data enough? Prospects for transformative citizen science in the Chinese Anthropocene

Cited by 11 publications

References 47 publications

Information, technology, and digitalization in China’s environmental governance

Information, technology, and digitalization in China’s environmental governance

Information, Technology, and Digitalization in China’s Environmental Governance

Thinking Like a Mountain: Exploring the Potential of Relational Approaches for Transformative Nature Conservation

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About