Citizen Science: A Significant Contribution to Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation

Abstract

The term "biodiversity" refers to the diverse variety of living things that exist in our natural environment including not just plants and animals, but also fungi and even microscopic organisms such as bacteria. Since there are still millions of species that have not been identified, the overall biodiversity of our world is immense. The biodiversity of our planet plays a significant role in ensuring the health of our ecosystems. Because of habitat destruction, industrialization, urbanization, and the ever-increasing population of humans, many animal and plant species are classified as being either vulnerable, endangered, or in imminent danger of becoming extinct. In addition, there is a high risk of extinction for a large number of species in the event that management and conservation strategies are not immediately put into effect. The goal of the initiative known as "citizen science" is to increase scientific understanding by encouraging collaboration and participation from the general public in scientific research. Individual people have the opportunity to nurture their scientific temperament in the field through involvement in citizen science, which also allows communities an ability to study nature and protect it through collective efforts. In order to monitor and conserve biodiversity together with professionals in the scientific and academic communities to develop solutions to environmental problems, it is important to establish additional citizen science projects for citizen scientists.