Dwivedi Arvind Kumar
Department of Habitat Ecology Wildlife Institute of India Dehradun Uttarakhand India.
River Res Appl. 2021 Sep;37(7):1025-1031. doi: 10.1002/rra.3820. Epub 2021 May 30.
Citizen Science plays a vital role in monitoring biodiversity. However, it has been challenging for scientists to interact with citizens involved in biodiversity monitoring during the COVID-19 pandemic. In such circumstances, digital technology can serve as a tool for biodiversity monitoring through the cooperation between citizens and scientists. Trained volunteers can share ecological data, photographs, and videos of the species, and disturbances within ecosystems, due to anthropological activities through various digital platforms, such as Email, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, and mobile apps designed for this purpose. The Wildlife Institute of India has taken the initiative by launching an android app "Ganga Data Collector" and Facebook pages "Glimpses of Ganga" and "Ganga Rejuvenation" as part of the "Biodiversity Conservation and Ganga Rejuvenation" project with an objective to monitor the biodiversity of the Ganga River involving the local community known as "Guardians of the Ganga" or "Ganga Prahari." These trained volunteers can share photos and videos of recorded species, their mortality and rescue operations along with water quality data and prohibited activities like illegal fishing and habitat degradation due to pollution and mining. Professionals around the world employed in freshwater biodiversity monitoring could follow the same strategy to overcome the present COVID-19 pandemic crisis and prepare to monitor biodiversity during future lock-downs.
公民科学在生物多样性监测中发挥着至关重要的作用。然而，在新冠疫情期间，科学家与参与生物多样性监测的公民进行互动一直具有挑战性。在这种情况下，数字技术可以通过公民与科学家之间的合作，作为生物多样性监测的工具。经过培训的志愿者可以通过各种数字平台，如电子邮件、WhatsApp、Facebook、Twitter以及为此目的设计的移动应用程序，分享物种的生态数据、照片和视频，以及由于人类活动导致的生态系统内的干扰。印度野生动物研究所已主动推出一款安卓应用程序“恒河数据收集器”以及Facebook页面“恒河掠影”和“恒河复兴”，作为“生物多样性保护与恒河复兴”项目的一部分，目的是监测恒河的生物多样性，让当地社区“恒河守护者”或“恒河卫士”参与其中。这些经过培训的志愿者可以分享所记录物种的照片和视频、它们的死亡情况和救援行动，以及水质数据和诸如非法捕鱼以及因污染和采矿导致的栖息地退化等违禁活动。世界各地从事淡水生物多样性监测的专业人员可以遵循相同的策略，以克服当前的新冠疫情危机，并为未来封锁期间的生物多样性监测做好准备。
