Locally-based participatory monitoring

Thursday, May 11, 2017 | 3pm, 401 Akasofu

Finn Danielsen, Nordic Foundation for Development and Ecology (NORDECO)

Human knowledge on the status and trends of natural resources, ecosystem services and species on earth is limited. Global environmental assessments synthesize this limited data, which is then used in decision-making. There is a serious risk that decisions are poorly targeted and not addressing critical needs.

Over the past 100 years, science has been the preserve of ‘experts’. It is increasingly recognized that local community members who may not qualify as experts in conventional terms can be very knowledgeable about local resources. Moreover, local community members have an important role in the sustainable use of natural resources. The remarkable rise of technology and, in particular, mobile devices and social media, which have penetrated across the world (now also in Arctic regions), opens up the possibility for hundreds of millions of people to participate in scientific processes, and
to gather information and obtain results that are both locally and globally relevant and potentially transformational in scope.

Across a range of ecosystems and socio-political settings, Finn Danielsen and co-workers have explored the basis for inclusive and citizen-based natural resource monitoring, and the implications for natural resource management and commitment towards conservation. In this presentation, Finn will present and analyze numerous case studies and put them into a collected perspective.

For more information, contact Nate Bauer (nbauer3@alaska.edu).