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Transformative Power of Participatory Research and Citizen Alliances
The first part of the afternoon highlighted how locally grounded, globally connected alliances enable the generation of robust data, the building of trust, and the linking of biodiversity, governance, education, and inclusive partnerships.
Citizen Science – K2W Glideways Program (Australia): Restoring Habitat Connectivity
Mary Bell introduced, with Gigi Bonnet (student in Geneva, originally from Australia), the K2W Glideways program, a citizen alliance aiming to restore habitat connectivity along a reference corridor (Kanangra-Boyd to Wyangala) in southeastern Australia, with the Greater Glider (a large gliding marsupial) as the umbrella species.
- The species is highly dependent on old-growth forests (tree hollows, food resources), and its future has severely declined after the 2019 fires, with population drops of up to 80% in some areas.
- Identified threats include: ongoing habitat loss, exploitation/pressure on native forests, and intensification of climate extremes.
- The program illustrates a highly operational approach to citizen science, mobilizing a wide range of actors: landowners, schools, volunteers, community groups, scientists, and protected area managers.
Tools and protocols used:
- workshops to train volunteers and set up equipment (including camera traps),
- BioBlitz (intensive biodiversity inventories),
- collection of environmental DNA (eDNA) and samples (e.g., swabs, water) to detect species presence,
- exploration of potential acoustic signatures,
- thermal drones to estimate populations, even detecting juveniles in priority zones.
The project also highlighted a structural issue for scaling: data fragmentation across platforms (e.g., iNaturalist, NatureMapper), which complicates integration, even as platform maintenance funding remains limited despite increasing participation. Particular attention was given to the privacy o
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