Introduction: Taking Citizen Science Beyond Science for Transformative Change

Citizen science (CS)¹ and other community-based approaches for monitoring environmental change are gaining momentum in research and practice, especially in Global North² contexts (Quinlivan et al. 2020; Danielsen et al. 2021). Meanwhile, there are gaps in the monitoring of sustainable development (Klopp and Petretta 2017; Fraisl et al. 2020), including the progress (or regress) of the environmental Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for improving life on land and below water (SDGs 15 and 14), climate change action (SDG 13), and water quality and management (SDG 6) (UN 2015). While partnerships to collect data have been formed among government agencies, academic institutions, local governments, private businesses and civil society organizations, a recent assessment by the United Nations (UN) shows a lack of data on and monitoring of, for example, water quality, upon which 3 billion people depend (UN 2022). These and other goals are critical to reach and thus track in all countries, especially to move the world’s rapidly expanding cities towards sustainability (SDG 11). With the gap in SDG monitoring and the momentum in citizen-based science, it seems logical to connect the two (cf. Fraisl et al, 2020) and take CS beyond science to mobilize positive environmental change. This is especially—but not exclusively—prospective in many regions in the Global South where institutional frameworks and resources for monitoring are largely missing (Quinlivan et al. 2020), and where research on CS in general lags behind (Denhardt et al. 2009; Requier et al. 2020; see Pocock et al. 2019 for East Africa) or do not reach a global audience due to language biases (Chowdhury et al. 2022).

Inspired by research experiences in South Africa, this paper aims to discuss the potentials and complications of applying CS for sustainable transformative change.³ There is a need to expand and advance CS research and practice beyond the translation of science into communities. We see equally important opportunities to integrate local, traditional, and/or indigenous knowledge and practice with conventional scientific methods and worldviews. This would unleash the potential to strengthen capacities beyond improved monitoring skills among CS participants only, towards greater environmental awareness, community empowerment, and care for nature across stakeholders.

We discuss the potential of CS through examples of community-based ecological restoration and artistic research methods. First, recent studies document the potential of CS to combine nature conservation actions with rigorous data collection and increased environmental agency (Ballard et al. 2017). These studies outline requirements in terms of monitoring methods and data sharing (Sullivan and Molles 2016), and discuss the role of communities as active role players and decision-makers in all process stages of nature protection or restoration initiatives (Ortega-Álvarez et al. 2021). Studies also underline challenges concerning data quality and validation (Kosmala et al. 2016; Wiggins and He 2016). Second, community art and nature relations have been successfully combined with research to increase our understanding of human-nature perceptions and actions. For instance, studies show how nature-focused photography, painting, and other artwork can lead to stronger nature engagement and a sense of care (Farnsworth 2011; Kay et al. 2019). Art-based research can also reveal some of the intangible inner workings of fundamental human-nature relations (Masterson et al. 2018), such as place-based nature relationships (Cocks et al. 2016), prioritization of environmental issues (Cock 2006), and emotional responses of empathy and awareness (Whitley et al. 2021). However, there is a void in testing and combining different creative tools, since most studies focus on single specific methods, in particular photography (Farnsworth 2011). Moreover, CS potentials are rarely more widely explored (Rogers 2011), at least beyond photography in Northern contexts like the USA (e.g., Zha et al. 2022) and Austria (Guinand et al. 2021).

The above studies indicate an opportunity to tie CS closer to nature conservation actions and nature-focused, art-based research, especially considering the eminent need to monitor sustainable development in the Global South. However, various contextual challenges must be borne in mind when engaging in CS as part of sustainable development research. The most relevant to this paper are:

1. Conceptual and practical challenges exist regarding the legal status of CS participants and local knowledge systems. The “citizen” label does not always apply, (e.g., for illegal migration and informal settlements) nor does the “science” label necessarily resonate with traditional, indigenous knowledge and practices (Cocks et al. 2016). The recognition and inclusion of participants can thus be a sensitive matter for institutions in charge of CS activities, such as state authorities, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and researchers (see also Denhardt et al. 2009).
2. Local participants—formal citizenship or not—are often marginalized, and at times traumatized, by historical injustices, like in the post-apartheid South African context (McDonald 2002). In marginalized communities, there may also be ethical considerations of “occupying” people’s time for research, but with no prospects for change or a direct (positive) impact on their immediate needs. Contextually relevant processes and incentives for participation are needed (Requier et al. 2020) due to acute needs, safety, and fragile bonds of trust (cf. Denhardt et al. 2009).
3. A low baseline or starting point of participatory approaches across institutional levels might exist (see Pasgaard et al. 2017), along with a lack of institutional infrastructure and capacity for engaging citizens/communities and handling CS activities and outcomes (Pocock et al. 2019). A collaborative and transformative change of mindsets—among both CS facilitators and participants—will be required to co-develop long-lasting, mutual capacities.

With the above gaps and Global South perspectives in mind, we pose the following research questions: Where do the potentials and challenges for CS lie for sustainable development (and its monitoring)? In cases in which CS initiatives are feasible, how should one spread and embed the data, positive impacts, and opportunities beyond the participants and researchers involved during the “intervention period” towards broader transformative change? We unpack and discuss these questions through two empirical cases from South Africa, and offer concrete suggestions for advancing CS research in a creative and collaborative direction. From the perspective of sustainable development, and for tracking its progress, we illustrate prospects for simultaneously improving and monitoring water quality (SDG 6) and related goals, while educating and empowering both CS participants and facilitators. Our paper thereby offers methodological contributions to SDG monitoring with specific suggestions to address the lack of CS research in the Global South and beyond towards facilitating transformative change.

Study Context and Methods

This paper builds on two recent studies in South Africa. The first study aimed to assess livelihood benefits from community-based ecological restoration. The second study applied an artistic approach to explore community ownership and access to urban green space. While neither of the two studies directly employed CS to collect data on water quality or biodiversity, for instance, they hold strong CS potentials, as our subsequent analysis will show.

South Africa is suffering from multiple interacting crises, including climatic changes causing flooding and drought (Otto et al. 2018; Musyoki et al. 2016), environmental degradation leading to the loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services (Lannas and Turpie 2009), low inclusion of evidence-based knowledge and monitoring of landscape restoration (Angelstam et al. 2017), and inequitable access to economic opportunities, as illustrated by high levels of poverty and unemployment (Anderson et al. 2013). These crises all occur in a historical context of racial injustices that left deep scars on people and places (Moodley 2019). Despite these challenges, South Africa is still undergoing positive changes as the lead nation in Africa in terms of scientific knowledge creation (Pasgaard et al. 2015), transnational green partnerships (Altinget 2022), and international peace-keeping (BusinessTech 2016; Good Country Index 2022), for instance, while maintaining a progressive outlook and relative economic stability.

The first study included a livelihood survey of restoration workers, who were part of public programs (the so-called “Working for Water” and “Working on Fire” programs) for the eradication of invasive alien plant species along river streams. The government established these programs to restore water catchments, and the programs jointly address poverty alleviation and ecological restoration by employing restoration workers from poor local communities (McConnachie et al. 2013). The livelihood survey was conducted in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa in November 2019 and February 2020. The survey questionnaire covered the workers’ socioeconomic backgrounds, their motivations, and the benefits they receive from the restoration project. Drawing on the Sustainable Livelihood Framework (Scoones 2009; DFID 1999), the survey focused on capturing changes in the workers’ financial assets (e.g., income and employment), physical assets (e.g., electricity and heating facilities), human assets (e.g., health and education), natural assets (e.g., access to soil and wood), social assets (e.g., friends and networks), and political assets (e.g., decision-making and benefits distribution). Besides the survey—conducted by two local enumerators—semi-structured interviews were conducted with other project members, 12 contractors (responsible for organizing the transport, alien plant clearing, and salary payment), two supervisors, two managers, and one project coordinator.

The second study took place in the City of Tshwane, South Africa, in 2021 and 2022. The overall aim of the study was to gain knowledge on local people’s use, perceived benefits and risks, challenges, and dreams relating to their nearby urban nature. A survey and semi-structured interviews were conducted in two study sites (Atteridgeville and Mabopane) among local community members living in the proximity of publicly accessible unmanaged urban green spaces hosting remnants of natural vegetation mixed with illegal (migrant) settlements, dumping sites, and informal activities like waste sorting, gardening, and livestock keeping. More specifically, the community survey was structured around nature perceptions and environmental justice dimensions (distributive, procedural, and as recognition). A handful of targeted sub-studies aided deeper investigations into human-nature relations, sense of place, gender perspectives, environmental activism, and informal settlements. One of these parallel targeted studies applied photovoice research⁴ conducted by two international university students and two local photographers. Participants from local schools in Mabopane were taught the basic principles of photography before being tasked to venture into their local unmanaged green spaces to take photographs. The photographs were later displayed in a public outdoor exhibition. Preparation for the photovoice project included conversations and logistical planning with local artists and teachers to ensure participant engagement and benefits. During the photovoice project, six focus group discussions, guided by reflections from participants about their photographs, were conducted to deliberate perceptions, values, and agency felt about nature and the green space.

For both studies, ethical clearance was granted by the respective research institutions and local authorities (City Strategy and Organisational Performance, the City of Tshwane, 17 and 28 June 2021), and consent forms were collected for all research participants. The survey and interview respondents, as well as the photovoice participants and focus groups, were offered cold drinks and a small snack as a token of appreciation for their time, but no monetary exchange was made.

Results and Analysis: Learning from Experience to Push Citizen Science Beyond Science

The livelihood survey among the restoration teams in KwaZulu-Natal revealed improved livelihood benefits (Figure 1) for the workers, especially in terms of financial, human, and social assets (as also reported by Olesen et al. 2021).

The educational component of the human asset responses, in particular, is thought-provoking from a CS perspective. Many workers specified what they had learned from the restoration training and activities, such as knowing about different plant species (e.g., their water requirements and whether they are alien or indigenous), and how to handle snakes and insects. While most workers had taken the restoration job to earn a living or because it was assigned to them through the public works programs, many also stated their motivation as driven by a desire to help the community and to protect nature and water sources. Extensive material, including an illustrated book for species identification and various pieces of equipment, was available to the restoration teams, who received training and supervision before and during the work. After the training, the knowledge and skills of the workers were well advanced and visible. As noted by a manager of eight restoration teams, who explains how he enjoys the link between conservation and people:

People are growing from this work, some start studying, and many raise their environmental awareness. We try to upscale people with training, first aid, etc. From being poor, they progress in life. You see immediate results (interview, uMngeni catchment, 2019-11-26).

Besides gaining knowledge and skills about nature and nature rehabilitation themselves, several workers and contractors brought these skills and knowledge into their community to teach their children and neighbors—some even removed alien plant species at their own settlements (Pasgaard and Fold, unpublished). The livelihood survey also showed that two-thirds of the workers felt that their team practiced joint decision-making Pasgaard and Fold, unpublished), indicating a collaborative culture in some of the teams. While the economic and hydro-ecological benefits and trade-offs from the restoration program have been evaluated, most assessments are conducted at catchment scales, and the monitoring of benefits, such as fire prevention and biodiversity preservation, are lacking (Hosking and du Preez 2004), including monitoring by the restoration teams themselves.

The community survey, interviews, and photovoice project conducted in the city of Tshwane gave a contrasting picture of the human-nature relationships and activities among urban residents. The survey revealed that many residents feel that the local community—instead of the government—should be the owners of the urban green spaces (Figure 2), suggesting a secret or indirect sense of ownership and a potential to upgrade local engagement and co-management. This potential seems partly hindered by a lack of influence in decisions about the green space. Specifically, more than three out of four (85%) respondents perceived their local community’s influence as absent or low, indicating a feeling of alienation from management and perhaps then low responsibility; a responsibility they might be interested in having, given the values they tie to their urban green space (Figure 3). This suggests that the community feels attached to the area, despite the low actual use of the urban green spaces and a strong sense of insecurity, which is accredited to negative aspects, mainly pollution, crime, and lack of management (Engemann et al., unpublished).

When asked directly, an overwhelming number of residents expressed a willingness to participate in community-driven activities exemplified by the maintenance of facilities, safety measures like community guards, provisional services like gardening, or educational activities like teaching youth. What holds people back from engaging in such activities, according to the respondents themselves, is primarily time and resource constraints, safety concerns, and a lack of (knowledge about) the organization of such activities and opportunities to get involved. This was expressed by a young woman (aged 24, Mabopane), who said she is willing to engage in the maintenance of community facilities, but she is held back by a lack of support, while feeling a need to “join forces […] to change the site.” An older man (aged 71, Atteridgeville) explained how the community has drastically changed, since the area used to be much cleaner, safer, and better maintained, but “there are no organizations that drive the community to push such agendas forward.” Interestingly, while this frustration was echoed by several residents, such organizations do exist at both sites, leaving questions about the visibility, recruitment, and awareness of such activities.

Strong community interest in the research was also apparent, particularly in Mabopane. This was illustrated by some people waiting in line to be interviewed for the survey, and the vast majority of people voluntarily providing their names and phone numbers for the local enumerators in case the researchers wished to contact them again—some even asking to be part of research activities in the future. Similarly, the photovoice research indicated an eagerness to be involved in research-based community activities in and around urban nature, despite its unmanaged character and strong perceptions of insecurity. The artistic approach involved the community in a reciprocal way rather than being solely extractive. This strengthened the trust between the community and the researchers (see Knudsen et al. 2022), and perhaps this was made even stronger as the young international photovoice research team represented different genders and backgrounds.

From an educational perspective, the unique interactions and co-development of the research between the academics (scholars and researchers), local artists (photographers), and schoolteachers illustrated an untraditional setup, in which the activities were adapted to the local context and needs of the community. Especially with the youngest participants, the learning opportunity, the after-school activity, and the photography certificate they earned incentivized their participation (personal observations). The missing link in this co-creation and transformation of human-nature relations was the involvement of local authorities like city officials. These political stakeholders were asked for initial formal permission to engage with the community and were invited to the outdoor exhibition, but they did not become an integrated part of the whole collaborative process (see the Discussion section).

Discussion: Rethinking Citizen Science Towards More Inclusive and Transformative Change

Based on the two empirical examples, the analysis above paints a relatively optimistic picture of the opportunities for integrating CS in development research and practice in South Africa. Here, we rethink the conceptualization, incentives, and baselines for CS before we exemplify the use of CS in achieving and tracking the SDGs, and point a way forward.