Digital innovations can elevate citizen science as an internationally recognized source of data used by policymakers and as a career opportunity for young people
The Enviro-Champs are a group of over a thousand people using citizen science to draw attention to water quality issues in South Africa.
“We work with the Enviro-Champs to support us on the ground to collect data on rivers”, said Futhi Vilakazi of uMngeni-uThukela Water.
Research by scientists at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and GroundTruth have shown that simple visual tools such as charts to identify and count lifeforms in rivers, or acrylic tubes to identify the clarity of water, can provide comparable results to laboratory tests.
Groups like the Enviro-Champs and other citizen scientists have readily adopted these tools, demonstrating the unique contribution that can come from co-engaged local communities. Citizen scientists can collect more data over longer periods, across large regions or with greater intensity. In one study*, volunteers monitored how water pollution from wastewater treatment works varied every day between 2012 and 2019. Less than two years after the treatment plant was made aware of this monitoring, their compliance with regulations shot up from zero to 60-70%.
Nonetheless, citizen science comes with its own challenges. The process remains highly manual and often paper-based, relying on the selfless dedication of volunteers to improve local issues. Although the community aspect can be a powerful motivator to local authorities, the data they collect are often seen as being too unreliable to use for management.
Through the CGIAR Initiative on Digital Innovation, IWMI, Groundtruth and key local partners are collaborating to develop technological upgrades that can transform the impact of citizen science.
This includes a smartphone app to digitize, geolocate and upload citizen science river health surveys, using the mini stream assessment scoring system (miniSASS), to an online platform. There have been >350 river health surveys submitted by citizen scientists in 2024. An image recognition AI function was created to recognize lifeforms in the river that indicate water quality, helping verify the data in real time.
