Citizen Science-based Monitoring of Agricultural Biodiversity Tool

MonViA's development and implementation of a Citizen Science-based Monitoring tool aims to facilitate the voluntary participation of farmers and other rural actors, such as beekeepers, hunters and gardeners. The participating actors are supported scientifically and are provided animal and plant profiles to evaluate their observations. This activity is foreseen for the long-term monitoring of the entire area of Germany. However, the individual components will initially be developed in a three-year pilot phase and tested in selected regions and participants. The potential of Citizen Science-based methods is significant because:

  • They can increase data about target species/ indicator groups in agricultural landscapes,
  • They benefit from farmers and rural actors’ willingness to engage with biodiversity, and
  • They raise awareness on the relationship between biodiversity and  agricultural landscapes

Currently, a wild bee monitoring project is underway. The aim is to create a database on the status and development of wild bees in agricultural landscapes at the national level by integrating volunteers in monitoring activities using non-lethal sampling approaches. Results are reported through a national wild bee indicator.

When fully deployed, the tool will have five different modules:

  • Arable weeds
  • Wild and Honeybee monitoring
  • Indicator species
  • Conspicuous beneficial organisms and pests
  • Technology development
Citizen Science-based monitoring
Relevance for monitoring and evaluation of the CAP

Data collection for monitoring and evaluation: Citizen Science-based methods are innovative and have tremendous potential in monitoring and evaluation for various reasons. First, if properly conducted, Citizen Science methods can yield a tremendous amount of monitoring data at a very low cost that may outweigh minor quality issues. Second, they establish synergies in data collection and monitoring. Third, Citizen Science methods promote a dialogue between society, scientific establishments and policymakers, which may prove beneficial for monitoring and evaluation due to new ideas, suggestions, hints, etc. Besides these monitoring and evaluation specific benefits, citizen science-based involvement raises awareness for nature conservation and empowers citizens to participate in the policy design processes. 

Citizen Science-based methods are not new in the evaluation of agricultural impacts on the environment. Bird Watching and conservation NGOs’ volunteers carry out essential data collection for the Farmland Bird Index in many Member States. However, the involvement of farmers and other stakeholders like beekeepers is a relatively new concept. The measure's success will depend on the farmers’ willingness to participate and the readiness of the project to support and continuously motivate the volunteers.

Last modification date: 
08/12/2021