The power of the citizen scientist has never been greater. But
how great is this power, and can it even extending into influencing positive
development practices?
A recent Pensoft article1 highlighted the
scientific impacts that citizens and technology are achieving. Specifically,
the impact that geo-referenced photographs, uploaded onto online data stores,
are having in the scientific world. Not least, confirmation of the existence of
an endangered species, fifty years after its first description. But how can
increased biodiversity data help facilitate positive impacts for development?
Well, the majority of developments begin with extensive
project planning. Usually this involves the choosing between several options,
requiring large amounts of data. Decisions can be based on a range of factors,
including biodiversity impact. The best developers know that by minimising their
impact during the planning stage, they can prevent destruction of important
biodiversity and save time and money on expensive remediation and mitigation
further down the line.
So how can you help? In order to make the best environmental
decisions, everyone involved in developments needs access to the latest
biodiversity data. Citizens taking geo-referenced photographs, through online data
stores and record centers, are helping to facilitate this, like never before.
Source
Photo
Alison Christine Flickr Account - Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
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