Citizen science and marine conservation: a global review Kelly, Rachel; Fleming, Aysha; Pecl, Gretta T ...
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B. Biological sciences,
12/2020, Letnik:
375, Številka:
1814
Journal Article
Recenzirano
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Climate change, overfishing, marine pollution and other anthropogenic drivers threaten our global oceans. More effective efforts are urgently required to improve the capacity of marine conservation ...action worldwide, as highlighted by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030. Marine citizen science presents a promising avenue to enhance engagement in marine conservation around the globe. Building on an expanding field of citizen science research and practice, we present a global overview of the current extent and potential of marine citizen science and its contribution to marine conservation. Employing an online global survey, we explore the geographical distribution, type and format of 74 marine citizen science projects. By assessing how the projects adhere to the Ten Principles of Citizen Science (as defined by the European Citizen Science Association), we investigate project development, identify challenges and outline future opportunities to contribute to marine science and conservation. Synthesizing the survey results and drawing on evidence from case studies of diverse projects, we assess whether and how citizen science can lead to new scientific knowledge and enhanced environmental stewardship. Overall, we explore how marine citizen science can inform current understanding of marine biodiversity and support the development and implementation of marine conservation initiatives worldwide. This article is part of the theme issue 'Integrative research perspectives on marine conservation'.
Engaging local stakeholders is a central feature of many biodiversity conservation and natural resource management projects globally. Current literature on engagement predominantly focuses on ...individual case studies or specific geographical contexts, making general conclusions regarding the effect of these efforts on conservation outcomes difficult. We reviewed evidence from the peer-reviewed and grey literatures related to the role of stakeholder engagement (both externally-driven and self-organized engagement) in biodiversity conservation at the local scale using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. We critically appraised and extracted data using mixed methods for case studies (n=82) and meta-analyses (n=31) published from 2011 to 2015. We conducted an inductive thematic analysis on background literature references published from 2000 to 2016 (n=283). The quantitative analysis assessed multiple variables, and yielded no significant results, but suggested a possible relationship between success in producing attitudinal change towards conservation and four engagement factors. Our qualitative analysis identified six dimensions of engagement processes that are critical for successful outcomes when a project is externally-driven, and suggests that understanding of governance and social-cultural context plays an important role in all types of stakeholder engagement efforts. Finally, we reflect on the effectiveness of relying primarily on evidence available from published literature to understand links between conservation and stakeholder engagement, in particular with regard to self-organized engagement.
•We reviewed evidence on the efficacy of stakeholder engagement in conservation.•Mixed methods approach revealed several dimensions of engagement important for success.•Look beyond written literature for evidence of success in self-organizing groups.•“Evidence-informed” approaches hold promise for future work on this subject.
•Heterogeneous users and interests drive conflict in water-scarce areas.•Tailored stakeholder engagement efforts can unite users to collaborate on solutions.•Conjunctive use of approaches for ...stakeholder engagement can bridge the heterogeneous needs of various water users.•Water users collaborated to develop a shared catchment vision and to identify key catchment attributes for inclusion in systems models.•Stakeholder feedback indicated overall satisfaction with the engagement process.
Engaging water users when developing water management plans is increasingly being embraced by a wide range of scientists in the water sector as imperative for dealing with present-day water resources challenges. However, the complexity presented by unique catchment situations makes it difficult to prescribe a ‘one size fits all’ solution to localised water resource challenges. South Africa is well-known for its population heterogeneity, which spreads into catchments, layering complexity in terms of water user types, needs and interests. This research presents a novel conjunctive use of classical and newly developed tools within a stakeholder engagement framework. This application of a suite of tools responds to the complex conflict of water user needs and interests in the Koue Bokkeveld catchment in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. We implement the Adaptive Planning Process, and the Actors, Resources, Dynamics, and Interactions approaches to unite conflicting stakeholders and develop a shared vision as the foundation for co-developing and negotiating a shared water management plan. We present the outcomes of a series of participatory workshops in which stakeholders developed a shared catchment vision. Stakeholders united around the vision and actively engaged in participatory Agent-based Model co-development with the research team. Increased attendance and active participation in the latter workshops demonstrate a positive progression in the engagement process. Outcomes of the stakeholder feedback evaluation validate increased participant satisfaction with the process. We then reflect on the practicalities of stakeholder engagement based on our experience. Learnings from this conjunctive application of approaches suggest that providing a conducive engagement platform, facilitation, and appropriate tools can enable conflicting water users to develop shared solutions collaboratively.
Wildlife translocations for conservation purposes are carried out in complex socio-political environments where diverse stakeholders are key to shaping outcomes. Nevertheless, social feasibility and ...participatory processes are often not fully integrated into the delivery of legitimate and effective conservation actions. We investigated how stakeholder engagement can be delivered in practice and how this delivery is linked to the transformative potential of conservation translocations. We studied the proposed reintroduction of hen harriers Circus cyaneus to southern England in the context of chronic conflicts surrounding the conservation of this species in the UK. We aimed to (a) identify the perspectives of key local stakeholders, focusing on project desirability and drivers, and (b) examine how social engagement processes during project development and implementation could shape reintroduction success. We adopted a qualitative approach comprising participant observation and sixteen semi-structured stakeholder interviews, which we analysed thematically using the Framework Method. Perspectives on the translocation project were overall positive, especially regarding the potential return of hen harriers. However, there were also tensions between the perceived suitability of the local context for reintroduction, and the unsuitability of the national context, due to chronic disagreement among conservationists over hen harrier management. Engagement activities, timing, team composition and the project's open, on-the-ground approach fostered stakeholder engagement and initiated collaborative processes, holding socio-ecological transformative potential for hen harrier management and possibly broader biodiversity conservation. Even within challenging national contexts, therefore, honest stakeholder engagement could enable the alignment of interests, challenging entrenched conservation conflicts at different scales through a bottom-up dynamic.
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agreed by Heads of Government in 2015 represent a major multilateral effort to shift the world towards more sustainable and resilient pathways, also taking ...into account the needs of developing countries. The SDG Agenda calls for a global partnership – at all levels – between all countries and stakeholders who need to work together to achieve the goals and targets, including a broad spectrum of actors such as multinational businesses, local governments, regional and international bodies, and civil society organizations. The purpose of this paper is to present a comprehensive review of the literature and develop a novel framework in order to tackle the barriers and challenges to operationalize and monitor the implementation of the SDGs. To achieve this, this paper reports on a state-of-the-art review of the SDGs, with a particular emphasis on their applications and linkages with sustainability science and aspects of knowledge management. This paper also reviews the rationale and aims of the Sustainable Development Goals, outlines some of the problems and barriers related to their implementation, and presents some areas which deserve future attention. Ultimately, this paper seeks to uncover the various gaps and suggests some means via which some of challenges seen in the accomplishment of the 17 SDGs may be faced.
•The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) should shift the world towards a sustainable and resilient pathway.•The SDG Agenda calls for global partnerships at all levels.•A novel framework to tackle barriers and challenges is needed.•We need to operationalize and monitor the implementation of the new 2030 agenda.
•The heat tolerance of corals is largely determined by their microbial photosymbionts, and manipulating symbiont communities may enhance the ability of corals to survive summer ...heatwaves.•Experimental evolution of Symbiodiniaceae cultures under elevated temperatures has been successfully used to enhance the upper thermal tolerance of symbiont cultures in vitro, and corals following inoculation.•Novel culturing, upscaling, and biodiversity monitoring techniques are required to deliver experimentally evolved coral symbionts at scale, and success requires learning from or directly utilise adjacent industries (e.g., bio-technology for algae-based commodities).•This intervention has transitioned from stakeholder engagement to regulatory approval for risk assessments via small scale field trials, which is an essential step on the path to implementation.
The heat tolerance of corals is largely determined by their microbial photosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae, colloquially known as zooxanthellae). Therefore, manipulating symbiont communities may enhance the ability of corals to survive summer heatwaves. Heat-tolerant and -sensitive symbiont species occur in nature, however even corals that harbour naturally tolerant symbionts have been observed to bleach during summer heatwaves. Experimental evolution (i.e., laboratory selection) of Symbiodiniaceae cultures under elevated temperatures has been successfully used to enhance their upper thermal tolerance, both in vitro and, in some instances, following their reintroduction into corals. In this review, we present the state of play of this intervention and its potential role within coral reef restoration, and discuss the next critical steps required to bridge the gap to implementation.
The heat tolerance of corals is largely determined by their microbial photosymbionts (Symbiodiniaceae, colloquially known as zooxanthellae). Therefore, manipulating symbiont communities may enhance the ability of corals to survive summer heatwaves. Heat-tolerant and -sensitive symbiont species occur in nature, however even corals that harbour naturally tolerant symbionts have been observed to bleach during summer heatwaves. Experimental evolution (i.e., laboratory selection) of Symbiodiniaceae cultures under elevated temperatures has been successfully used to enhance their upper thermal tolerance, both in vitro and, in some instances, following their reintroduction into corals. In this review, we present the state of play of this intervention and its potential role within coral reef restoration, and discuss the next critical steps required to bridge the gap to implementation.
•Greenwashing is when firms disclose large quantities of ESG data but have poor ESG performance.•Greenwashing is a barrier to integrating ESG factors into investment decisions.•We identify large ...companies that engage in Greenwashing.•Firm-level governance factors are more important in deterring Greenwashing than country factors.•Cross-listing status can also dissuade firms from engaging in greenwashing.
The environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data provided in firms’ sustainability reports is often unaudited. If ESG information disclosed by firms is not reliable, a firm’s greenwashing behavior can be a barrier to integrating ESG factors into investment decisions. In this paper, we study mechanisms to lessen firms’ greenwashing behavior in ESG dimensions holistically. Firstly, we identify “greenwashers” as firms which seem very transparent and reveal large quantities of ESG data but perform poorly in ESG aspects. By creating peer-relative greenwashing scores for a cross-country dataset comprised by 1925 large-cap firms, we measure the extent to which large-cap firms engage in greenwashing. We find evidence that greenwashing behavior in ESG dimensions can be deterred by scrutiny from (a) independent directors, (b) institutional investors, (c) influential public interests via a less corrupted country system, and (d) being cross-listed. Our results suggest that the two firm-level governance factors are most effective at attenuating firms’ misleading disclosure relating to ESG dimensions.
Using the explicit and implicit Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) framework, this study investigates how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large companies differ in their approach to CSR ...and what association these differing approaches to CSR have with a company's financial and social performances. We develop and validate a stakeholder engagement approach (SEA) scale and then present the results of data collected from 211 SMEs and 179 large companies. The results indicate that while large companies rely more on explicitly articulated and formally enacted approaches to CSR, SMEs integrate social responsibility into their company activities in informal and implicit ways. The results also show that the explicit approach has a positive association with financial performance measures, while the implicit approach has a positive association with social performance. The findings of this study provide a more nuanced and theoretically grounded understanding of differences in the CSR practices of SMEs and large companies.
The textile industry's resource use, waste, and emissions have led to severe scrutiny, worsened by fast fashion's rise, making clothing disposable. The circular economy (CE) offers a solution to ...address these issues but achieving circular fashion requires systemic and comprehensive stakeholder engagement across the value chain. Current research often overlooks wider stakeholders beyond internal company members, neglecting calls to incorporate a systems perspective in CE transitions. Moreover, the potential of stakeholder engagement for social learning, where stakeholders mutually share and acquire knowledge, remains largely untapped. To this end, this paper provides a systematic methodology of stakeholder engagement based on an empirical setting of transition towards CE in fashion textiles in London. It entails identifying contexts, aligning stakeholders' actions, negotiating interventions, and communicating insights effectively. Based on the learnings from an empirical stakeholder engagement process, findings suggest a lack of alignment in the understanding of the CE concept across actors, that is underpinned by a fragmented knowledge of the overall value chain, often leading to also fragmented siloed policy approaches. While this paper uses fashion textiles as an illustrative case study, the process-led framework is largely applicable across different areas of the CE transition.
•Stakeholder engagement fosters social learning in circular transitions.•The fashion industry lacks alignment on circularity interventions across the value chain.•Actors in fashion lack a cohesive understanding of the value chain.•Circular fashion requires design, business models, and behaviour changes.•The stakeholder engagement framework applies to circular economy transitions in general.
Designing for dissemination and sustainability (D4DS) refers to principles and methods for enhancing the fit between a health program, policy, or practice and the context in which it is intended to ...be adopted. In this article we first summarize the historical context of D4DS and justify the need to shift traditional health research and dissemination practices. We present a diverse literature according to a D4DS organizing schema and describe a variety of dissemination products, design processes and outcomes, and approaches to messaging, packaging, and distribution. D4DS design processes include stakeholder engagement, participatory codesign, and context and situation analysis, and leverage methods and frameworks from dissemination and implementation science, marketing and business, communications and visualarts, and systems science. Finally, we present eight recommendations to adopt a D4DS paradigm, reflecting shifts in ways of thinking, skills and approaches, and infrastructure and systems for training and evaluation.
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