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Red4C: Citizen Science and Climate Change

MITECO

  • The Red4C project: Citizen Science and Climate Change has managed to create a fabric aimed at addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation through citizen participation.
  • Within the framework of the initiative, a network of more than 30 entities has been formed that have worked together to share their experience on climate change and citizen science.
  • The Red4C Guide: citizen science for monitoring climate change in ecosystems has been developed, aimed at all people, groups or entities that wish to observe climate change in an ecosystem using citizen science.
  • Based on the theoretical framework generated in the guide, a pilot implementation has been carried out in the rivers of Cantabria that has allowed the generation of a methodology and materials for the monitoring of climate change in river ecosystems through citizen science.

Line of action:

Drivers of biodiversity loss

Execution date:

2020

Climate change is one of the great challenges facing humanity in the future. According to the Cambera Network Association, one of the basic conclusions of the studies that have been carried out regarding the social response to this phenomenon is that public policies fail to involve the population, despite the fact that the vast majority are aware of the reality of climate change and its danger. The research, according to the entity, coincides in pointing out that the representation of climate change is not adequate and that the mere dissemination of information about this phenomenon does not necessarily produce coherent and rational changes in human behavior, aspirations and lifestyles.

The general objective of the project has been to create a nationwide network made up of entities and organizations aimed at addressing the mitigation and adaptation to climate change of biological systems through citizen science.

The specific objectives were as follows:

  • To know the sources of information of the Spanish population on climate change.
  • To know the beliefs of the Spanish population about climate change, the relevance given to it and the perceived threat potential, as well as the attitudes and behaviours of this population in the face of climate change.
  • To know the perception of the Spanish population about the existing policies and response measures in the field of adaptation to climate change.
  • Create a national working group on the implementation of citizen science in the context of climate change.
  • Create a guide for the monitoring and evaluation of climate change in biological systems through citizen science.
  • Develop a methodology and materials for the assessment of the impacts, vulnerability and degree of adaptation of river systems to climate change through citizen science and validate it through pilot implementation.
  • Social research on climate change.
  • Identification of entities interested in working in the field of citizen science and climate change, signing of collaboration agreements and constitution of a national network .
  • Analysis of existing methodologies in the scientific field and their potential adaptation to the field of citizen science in order to develop a Guide for the Monitoring and Evaluation of Climate Change in Biological Systems through Citizen Science.
  • Development and validation through pilot implementation, of a methodology and materials for the assessment of the impacts, vulnerability and degree of adaptation of river systems to climate change, using citizen science.
  • Dissemination and dissemination of the project.

According to the entity, climate change is the main threat to biodiversity and the main challenge currently facing humanity, however, society’s perception of it does not seem to be adequate, since coherent and rational changes in people’s lifestyles are not being generated .

For this reason, the Red4C project has been promoted to address this reality through citizen science. The Red Cambera Association has carried out the Red4C project: Citizen Science and Climate Change with which it has managed to create a fabric aimed at addressing mitigation and adaptation to climate change through citizen participation.

In this sense, a network of more than 30 entities has been formed that have worked together to share their experience on climate change and citizen science to publish one of the main results of the project, the Red4C Guide: citizen science for monitoring climate change in ecosystems. This guide is aimed at all people, groups or entities that wish to observe climate change in an ecosystem using citizen science.

Based on the theoretical framework generated in this guide, a pilot implementation has been carried out in the rivers of Cantabria , for which a method and materials have been generated for the monitoring of climate change in river ecosystems through citizen science.

Various materials have also been produced: informative documents, awareness-raising campaigns and informative audiovisuals. All of them aim to contribute to addressing climate change adaptation and mitigation with the participation of citizens.

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linea de actuación

Red4C: Citizen Science and Climate Change