WLE Mekong
  • About Us
    • About us
      • Our objectives
      • Our team
      • Contact us
    • Our partners
        • Cambodian Partners
        • Chinese Partners
        • International Partners
        • Lao Partners
        • Myanmar Partners
        • Thai Partners
        • Vietnamese Partners
    • Close
  • Changes
    • Where We Work
      • Irrawaddy River Basin
      • Mekong River Basin
      • Red River Basin
      • Salween River Basin
      • View all projects
    • Our Work
      • Benefit-sharing
      • Catchments & Landuse
      • Gender & Diversity
      • Research for Development
      • River Food Systems
      • River Monitoring
      • Water Governance
      • Capacity Building & Professional Development
    • Our Research
      • Greater Mekong Dams Observatory
      • State of Knowledge Series
      • Water Knowledge Series
      • Irrawaddy River Basin
      • Mekong River Basin
      • Red River Basin
      • Salween River Basin
    • Close
  • Dialogue
    • Stories
      • Irrawaddy River Basin
      • Mekong River Basin
      • Red River Basin
      • Salween River Basin
      • Mekong Citizen
    • Greater Mekong Fora
      • 2018 Greater Mekong Forum
      • 2017 Greater Mekong Forum
      • 2016 Greater Mekong Forum
      • 2015 Greater Mekong Forum
    • Close

Mekong Blog

It could be citizen science. Part 1

  • Stories
  • Greater Mekong Forums
  • Mekong Citizen

It could be citizen science. Part 1

TerryClaytonNovember 18, 2013Mekong Blog

It could be citizen science. Part 1

What exactly is citizen science? If you are thinking backyard amateurs and weekend hobbyists, have a look at Scientific American’s Citizen Science website where you will find examples of researchers from some of the world’s top universities and research institutes enlisting the help of enthusiastic volunteers to monitor light pollution, design nanoparticles to attack cancerous tumours, protect endangered species and scores more projects around the world.

Public participation in scientific research projects has achieved notable outcomes for science. In recent years, over one hundred articles have been published, in peer-reviewed scientific journals that analyze and draw significant conclusions from volunteer-collected data.

Is there a greater role for citizen science in the Mekong?

I plan to explore the possibilities this week in Ha Noi at the 3rd Forum on Water, Food and Energy. From talking to CPWF Mekong project staff and partners, I know that researchers at Can Tho University in the Vietnam Delta have trained farmers to take water quality samples that will help expand their database and inform policy decisions on agricultural development and measures for adaptation to climate change. International Rivers supports a project in the Mekong called thaibaan research that trains villagers to document and catalogue their local natural resources. At least one CPWF Mekong project is promoting participatory video, and it has been suggested that citizen science might be one way of keeping the newly published CPWF Mekong Hydropower Map up to date. But is it ‘citizen science’ if you don’t name it so?

In many ways, citizen science is a return an earlier time when the boundaries between science and society were less distinct; when anyone with an interest in ‘natural philosophy’ could pursue their passion and freely share their findings and ideas via coffee house culture, ‘salons’ and informal groups of friends like Joseph Priestly, James Watt and Erasmus Darwin (father of Charles) who met with like minded associates once a month as The Lunar Society. The original Oxford English Dictionary was crowd sourced by volunteers.

The culture of science and research is characterized by critical thinking, systematic enquiry and scepticism toward unfounded claims. By promoting citizen science we are promoting a climate in which citizens engage in rational discussions and debates on civic matters. Aside from the very real contributions it makes to the advancement of knowledge, citizen science offers ordinary folks ‘a way in’ to local and regional policy debates that affect us all.

 Read: It could be citizen science. Part 2.

 

Previous
Story
Next
Story

Related Stories

  • August 15, 2018
    Progressing and Protecting the Mekong and its People
  • Oxfam’s partners discuss the affects Lower Sesan II hydropower project in Stueng Treng Province, Cambodia, has had on indigenous communities. Photo by Savann Oeurm/Oxfam
    July 23, 2018
    Oxfam Partners Urge Cooperation at Workshop
  • irrawaddy salween
    July 9, 2018
    Energy and Peace: can the two co-exist in Myanmar?
    Water Governance
  • mekong
    June 20, 2018
    Science-policy collaboration: an appealing way to tackle pollution from bananas
    Water Governance
  • mekong
    June 11, 2018
    New book: Sustainable agriculture under climate change
    Research for Development

The sustainable development of the Greater Mekong depends on the fair and equitable governance of its water.

ABOUT WLE

  • Our objectives
  • Our team
  • Our partners
  • Terms of use
  • Newsletters
  • Contact us

CO-SUPPORTED BY

WLE Greater Mekong is funded in part by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

Water, Land & Ecosystems Mekong - footer logos
© All rights reserved - WLE CGIAR
Subscribe to our newsletter SIGN UP
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.OkPrivacy policy