The Role of Citizen Science in Environmental Education

Author(s):  
Ria Ann Dunkley

Citizen Science is increasing in popularity and used by many academics, community groups and Non-Governmental Organizations in scientific data collection. Despite this, little is known about the motivations and experiences of those who contribute to citizen science projects, nor about the impacts of involvement in citizen science upon the individual. Moreover, few have considered the pedagogic process that individuals undergo as they participate in these activities. Citizen science practitioners and program developers stand to benefit from increased understanding of these experiences in terms of their capacity to enhance environmental education. Such increased understanding of the implications of citizen science may also promote the development of sustainability education. This chapter synthesizes insights from existing literature, policy documents and practical projects to explore the pedagogic potential of the convergence of citizen science and environmental education. The chapter concludes that progressive evaluation approaches are needed to complement what is an emergent field.

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (03) ◽  
pp. C02
Author(s):  
Marco Costantini

Despite an initial tendency to disregard Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) contributions, NGOs have now entered the fishery world, where debates should be carried out on the basis of different interpretations of sound scientific data. Such an approach is expected to be obvious, but this does not prove to be always true. NGOs and the research body that produced the scientific data are confused by other stakeholders and understanding scientific publications is regarded as not necessary. Further, there is a gap between the progress of scientific knowledge and the scientific approach adopted in policy resolutions. This opens new opportunities to carry out focused scientific communication.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-252
Author(s):  
Ziyagul Abduvapova ◽  

The possibilities for resolving environmental problems in Kyrgyzstan depend not only on political and economic implementations of environmental protection, but also on the general ecological culture of the population. One of the most important factors of forming the ecological culture of the modern Kyrgyzstan society is the new system of continuous environmental education and upbringing, based on the principles of sustainable development. The purpose of this article is to study the status, achievements and problems of the development of environmental education in the context of the environment protection policy of the Kyrgyz Republic in 1992-2010. The following tasks are being solved to achieve this goal: the process of forming the legislative base of environmental education in sovereign Kyrgyzstan is shown; priority areas for the development of environmental education is identified; The role of international and domestic non-governmental organizations in the process of formation and development of environmental education for the sustainable development of Kyrgyzstan is determined.


2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-127 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devrimi Kaya ◽  
Robert J. Kirsch ◽  
Klaus Henselmann

This paper analyzes the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as intermediaries in encouraging the European Union (EU) to adopt International Accounting Standards (IAS). Our analysis begins with the 1973 founding of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC), and ends with 2002 when the binding EU regulation was approved. We document the many pathways of interaction between European supranational, governmental bodies and the IASC/IASB, as well as important regional NGOs, such as the Union Européenne des Experts Comptables, Économiques et Financiers (UEC), the Groupe d'Etudes des Experts Comptables de la Communauté Économique Européenne (Groupe d'Etudes), and their successor, the Fédération des Experts Comptables Européens (FEE). This study investigates, through personal interviews of key individuals involved in making the history of the organizations studied, and an extensive set of primary sources, how NGOs filled key roles in the process of harmonization of international accounting standards.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Vogelpohl

AbstractThe bioeconomy is nowadays widely proclaimed by governments and corporations around the world as a new paradigm for a sustainable economy. Essentially, it broadly denotes the promotion, development and establishment of the use of biogenic resources in diverse kinds of industrial technologies, production processes and products. Yet, in order for the bioeconomy to be sustainable, it has to be assured that these biogenic resources are sourced sustainably. In the last 30 years, transnational sustainability certification (TSC) has established itself as a popular instrument in this context, for example in the case of European biofuels sustainability regulation. In the last decade or so, however, TSC initiatives in several biomass production sectors like palm oil, soy, fruits, aquaculture or fisheries—mostly initiated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and corporations from the Global North—are increasingly met with resistance from actors from the resource-producing countries, mostly located in the Global South. Issues brought up in this context concern their lack of legitimacy and respect for national regulatory sovereignty and conflicting priorities in terms of sustainable development. Consequently, governmental and corporate actors from the resource-producing countries have developed sustainability standards that now at least partly compete with TSC. Against this background, this contribution investigates this apparent dilemma of biomass certification by taking stock of existing TSC initiatives and territorial responses to them in several sectors of the bioeconomy in order to discover general patterns and dynamics of transnational biomass sustainability certification. This analysis is based on a review of existing empirical studies on these issues as well as on conceptual literature on discourse coalitions and transnational hybrid governance for the classification of the different aspects and developments in the individual sectors. Results show that TSC is indeed challenged in all sectors around story lines of sovereignty and sustainability, employed by closely associated state and industry actors in the specific context of the prevalent state-industry relations and the practices and institutions of the respective international political economies. Beyond this general pattern, these alternative systems take on different shapes and complex relations between transnational and territorial sustainability governance emerge that are not always antagonistic, but also exist in parallel or even complementarily and involve various hybrid configurations of public and private actors. Overall, this casts some doubt on the potential of TSC as an instrument to safeguard the sustainability of the bioeconomy and shows one of its potential pitfalls, which is reflected upon in the conclusion.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Maureen Schneider

Purpose Scholarship on the contact hypothesis and peacebuilding suggests that contact with marginalized ethnic and racial groups may reduce prejudice and improve opportunities for conflict resolution. Through a study of dual-narrative tours to Israel/Palestine, the purpose of this paper is to address two areas of the debate surrounding this approach to social change. First, past research on the effectiveness of contact-based tourism as a method to change attitudes is inconclusive. Travel to a foreign country has been shown to both improve and worsen tourists’ perceptions of a host population. Second, few scholars have attempted to link contact-based changes in attitudes to activism. Design/methodology/approach Through an analysis of 218 post-tour surveys, this study examines the role of dual-narrative tours in sparking attitude change that may facilitate involvement in peace and justice activism. Surveys were collected from the leading “dual-narrative” tour company in the region, MEJDI. Dual-narrative tours uniquely expose mainstream tourists in Israel/Palestine to Palestinian perspectives that are typically absent from the majority of tours to the region. This case study of dual-narrative tours therefore provides a unique opportunity to address the self-selecting bias, as identified by contact hypothesis and tourism scholars, in order to understand the potential impacts of exposure to marginalized narratives. Findings The findings of this study suggest that while these tours tend to engender increased support for Palestinians over Israelis, their most salient function appears to be the cultivation of empathy for “both sides” of the conflict. Similarly, dual-narrative tours often prompt visitors to understand the conflict to be more complex than they previously thought. In terms of activism, tourists tend to prioritize education-based initiatives in their plans for post-tour political engagement. In addition, a large number of participants articulated commitments to support joint Israeli–Palestinian non-governmental organizations and to try to influence US foreign policy to be more equitable. Originality/value These findings complicate debates within the scholarship on peacebuilding as well as within movements for social justice in Israel/Palestine. While programs that equate Israeli and Palestinian perspectives are often criticized for reinforcing the status quo, dual-narrative tours appear to facilitate nuance and universalism while also shifting tourists toward greater identification with an oppressed population. Together, these findings shed light on the ability of tourism to facilitate positive attitude change about a previously stigmatized racial/ethnic group, as well as the power of contact and exposure to marginalized narratives to inspire peace and justice activism.


2016 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 47-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
VIRGÍNIA TALAVEIRA VALENTINI TRISTÃO ◽  
JOSÉ AMÉRICO MARTELLI TRISTÃO

Abstract Environmental education practiced by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) presents itself as a new teaching method directed at changing habits, attitudes and social practices seeking solutions for the social-environmental degradation afflicting the contemporary world. This work seeks to identify the perception and expectations of stakeholders regarding the contribution of NGOs in environmental education. The research was guided by the Delphi method and, as a result, verified that the involved stakeholders understand that environmental education practiced by NGOs must be ample, free, professionalized and directed towards all the segments of society via partnerships with public and private sector organizations.


2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 113
Author(s):  
Iga Yulia Mustika ◽  
Asihing Kustanti ◽  
Rudi Hilmanto

Mangrove forest has physical, biological/ecological and social-economics functions. Mangrove forest at Pulau Pahawang Village, Marga Punduh, Subdistrict Pesawaran has many functions which causes many interest of actors. This research was aimed to identify and maping the role of actors interest. This research was conducted on August until October 2015, by using key informant namely agencies village, local communities, public figure, related department and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO).             The result showed that there was six important aspect namely the existence of the green belt, kind of variety (biodiversity), education facilities, fire wood, non-timber forest product, and tourist facilities. Pulau Pahawang Village has three quadrant matrix interest, quadrant subject has State Ministry of The Environment. Quadrant keyplayers has Department of Forestry and Estate Crops, Mangrove Protected Area Management Agency (BPDPM), and Mitra Bentala as NGOs. Quadrant crowd has Development Planning Agency in Sub-National Level, Land Agency, Department of Maritime and Fisheries Affairs, Regional House of Representatives, and local. Keyword : actor interest, mangrove forest, Pulau Pahawang, role of actor


2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-135
Author(s):  
Siraj Bashir

Community Development (CD) is an approach aimed at improving the quality of life of the community. The approach for improvement can be achieved through a number of ways and organizations which includes, the Governmental and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) "a private organization that pursue activities to reduce suffering, promote the interest of the poor , protect the environment, provide basic social services or undertake community development". This paper discusses the role and contribution of NGOs towards development in Balochistan. NGOs have several projects, programs and roles which support people to bring development in communities. In addition, NGOs mobilize the communities to be self-dependent. The study includes interviews, document analysis and field studies with staffs and the beneficiaries of NGOs. The study helps the communities to find out their own problems and solve them according to their own local resources. Recommendations made as to the best practices of community development programs for NGOs to improve the living standard of people in province of Balochistan.


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