Community-based Environmental Monitoring Research Articles

Making Sense of Local Climate Change in Rural Tanzania Through Knowledge Co-Production

Shifting climate parameters and their rippling effects through social-ecological systems have altered the abilities of rural households and communities around the world to make livelihood decisions based on traditional ecological knowledge (TEK). National and regional climate services are responding, but the information they provide may not meet local needs or concerns in an accessible format. Previous anthropological research suggests that integrating different knowledge systems to improve climate services, assist in local decision-making, and strengthen climate models remains problematic. To reduce or avoid some of these problems, a participatory, community-based environmental monitoring project was co-developed with residents of four rural Tanzanian communities. A field team brought in equipment and facilitated the training of local monitors, while communities chose the environmental sectors to monitor, collected and analyzed data, and evaluated the results in light of their local TEK. This interaction between scientists and participating community members highlights the value of knowledge co-production in making sense of environmental changes associated with climate that are observed and experienced at the local level. These activities also empowered communities to explore local climate adaptation and policy creation.

Effects of mining on reindeer/caribou populations and indigenous livelihoods: community-based monitoring by Sami reindeer herders in Sweden and First Nations in Canada

This paper explores the effects of human disturbances associated with mine development in the Arctic on habitat and populations of reindeer/caribou (both Rangifer tarandus), and implications for reindeer husbandry and caribou hunting of indigenous Sami people in Sweden and First Nations in Canada. Through three case studies, we illustrate how Cree and Naskapi communities develop community-based geospatial information tools to collect field data on caribou migration and habitat changes, and how Sami reindeer herders use GIS to gather information about reindeer husbandry to better communicate impacts of mining on reindeer grazing areas. Findings indicate impacts on the use of disturbed habitat by reindeer/caribou, on migration routes, and northern livelihoods. The three cases present novel methods for community-based environmental monitoring, with applications in hazards mapping and denote the active engagement of indigenous communities in polar environmental assessments, generating community-oriented data for land use management decisions. They also illustrate how technology can lead to better communication and its role for empowerment.

A systems approach to modeling Community-Based Environmental Monitoring: a case of participatory water quality monitoring in rural Mexico

Community-Based Environmental Monitoring (CBM) is a social practice that makes a valuable contribution to environmental management and construction of active societies for sustainable future. However, its documentation and analysis show deficiencies that hinder contrast and comparison of processes and effects. Based on systems approach, this article presents a model of CBM to orient assessment of programs, with heuristic or practical goals. In a focal level, the model comprises three components, the social subject, the object of monitoring, and the means of action, and five processes, data management, social learning, assimilation/decision making, direct action, and linking. Emergent properties were also identified in the focal and suprafocal levels considering community self-organization, response capacity, and autonomy for environmental management. The model was applied to the assessment of a CBM program of water quality implemented in rural areas in Mexico. Attributes and variables (indicators) for components, processes, and emergent properties were selected to measure changes that emerged since the program implementation. The assessment of the first 3 years (2010-2012) detected changes that indicated movement towards the expected results, but it revealed also the need to adjust the intervention strategy and procedures. Components and processes of the model reflected relevant aspects of the CBM in real world. The component called means of action as a key element to transit "from the data to the action." The CBM model offered a conceptual framework with advantages to understand CBM as a socioecological event and to strengthen its implementation under different conditions and contexts.

The Forel-Ule scale revisited spectrally: preparation protocol, transmission measurements and chromaticity

The Forel-Ule colour comparator scale has been applied globally and intensively by oceanographers and limnologists since the 19th century, providing one of the oldest oceanographic data sets. Present and future Forel-Ule classifications of global oceanic, coastal and continental waters can facilitate the interpretation of these long-term ocean colour data series and provide a connection between the present and the past that will be valuable for climate-related studies. Within the EC-funded project CITLOPS (Citizens’ Observatory for Coast and Ocean Optical Monitoring), with its main goal to empower end-users, willing to employ community-based environmental monitoring, our aim is to digitalize the colours of the Forel-Ule scale to establish the colour of natural waters through smartphone imaging. The objective of this study was to reproduce the Forel-Ule scale following the original recipes, measure the transmission of the solutions and calculate the chromaticity coordinates of the scale as Wernand and Van der Woerd did in 2010, for the future development of a smartphone application. Some difficulties were encountered when producing the scale, so a protocol for its consistent reproduction was developed and is described in this study. Recalculated chromaticity coordinates are presented and compared to measurements conducted by former scientists. An error analysis of the spectral and colourimetric information shows negligible experimental errors.

Community-based health research led by the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation

Objectives. This paper documents an exceptional research partnership developed between the Vuntut Gwitchin Government (VGG) in Old Crow, Yukon, with a group of scientists to examine northern food security and health as part of a larger, multidisciplinary International Polar Year (IPY) research program. We focus on the elements that enabled a successful community–researcher relationship.Study design. The VGG led the development of the research and acted as Principal Investigator on the IPY grant. The multidisciplinary collaboration spanned the physical, biological and health sciences, including issues related to food security.Methods. The food security and health component of this research was carried out using a series of complementary methods, including focus groups, structured interviews, a household questionnaire, an interactive workshop, community meetings, transcript analysis and a caribou flesh exposure assessment.Results. Results from the food security component are informing local and regional adaptation planning. The legacy of the research collaboration includes a number of results-based outputs for a range of stakeholders, a community-based environmental monitoring program, long-term research relationships and improved community capacity.Conclusions. The type of collaboration described here provides a useful model for new types of participatory health research with northern communities.

A review of citizen science and community-based environmental monitoring: issues and opportunities

Worldwide, decision-makers and nongovernment organizations are increasing their use of citizen volunteers to enhance their ability to monitor and manage natural resources, track species at risk, and conserve protected areas. We reviewed the last 10 years of relevant citizen science literature for areas of consensus, divergence, and knowledge gaps. Different community-based monitoring (CBM) activities and governance structures were examined and contrasted. Literature was examined for evidence of common benefits, challenges, and recommendations for successful citizen science. Two major gaps were identified: (1) a need to compare and contrast the success (and the situations that induce success) of CBM programs which present sound evidence of citizen scientists influencing positive environmental changes in the local ecosystems they monitor and (2) more case studies showing use of CBM data by decision-makers or the barriers to linkages and how these might be overcome. If new research focuses on these gaps, and on the differences of opinions that exist, we will have a much better understanding of the social, economic, and ecological benefits of citizen science.