Citizen Science for Nature Conservation in Hungary A Three-Dimensional Approach

Nature conservation–related citizen science (NCCS) has grown rapidly worldwide in previous years. In Hungary, a few citizen science (CS) projects have been operating for years and some have only recently launched. Our aim herein is to assess the performance of eight Hungarian NCCS projects in three...

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Main Authors: Johanna Maribel Soria Aguirre, Olivér Váczi, Marianna Biró, Erika Juhász, Zoltán Soltész, Barbara Barta, Zsuzsanna Márton, Tibor Szép, Bálint Halpern, István Szentirmai, Balázs Károlyi, Alexandra Czeglédi, Györgyi Bela, Eszter Tormáné Kovács
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Ubiquity Press 2024-11-01
Series:Citizen Science: Theory and Practice
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Online Access:https://account.theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/index.php/up-j-cstp/article/view/762
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author Johanna Maribel Soria Aguirre
Olivér Váczi
Marianna Biró
Erika Juhász
Zoltán Soltész
Barbara Barta
Zsuzsanna Márton
Tibor Szép
Bálint Halpern
István Szentirmai
Balázs Károlyi
Alexandra Czeglédi
Györgyi Bela
Eszter Tormáné Kovács
author_facet Johanna Maribel Soria Aguirre
Olivér Váczi
Marianna Biró
Erika Juhász
Zoltán Soltész
Barbara Barta
Zsuzsanna Márton
Tibor Szép
Bálint Halpern
István Szentirmai
Balázs Károlyi
Alexandra Czeglédi
Györgyi Bela
Eszter Tormáné Kovács
author_sort Johanna Maribel Soria Aguirre
collection DOAJ
description Nature conservation–related citizen science (NCCS) has grown rapidly worldwide in previous years. In Hungary, a few citizen science (CS) projects have been operating for years and some have only recently launched. Our aim herein is to assess the performance of eight Hungarian NCCS projects in three dimensions: a) science, b) nature conservation, and c) participants’ development. An evaluation framework was developed for the assessment. Our results show that the Common Bird Monitoring Program performed the best overall. This is also the oldest NCCS project in the country. When comparing the performance per dimension, the majority of the projects tended to have good performances in the science dimension. Most of the projects ensure data quality using different strategies. However, the need for open data and processing the project results for generating scientific publications still needs to be tackled by some NCCS initiatives. Regarding the nature conservation dimension, data generated have been mostly used in monitoring species/ecosystems, whereas data is less commonly used for conservation policy-making. It was identified that the participants’ development dimension has not received sufficient attention, and neither learning outcomes nor behavioral and attitude change has been evaluated by any projects. Our results of evaluating Hungarian NCCS initiatives in a complex way may offer insights for project managers and coordinators to identify which dimension are performing well and which areas need improvement. Also, our framework serves as a model that can be applied to current and future NCCS initiatives.
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spelling doaj-art-a18aec61c09a4d3bb88041f586c3c55d2025-08-20T01:58:38ZengUbiquity PressCitizen Science: Theory and Practice2057-49912024-11-0191303010.5334/cstp.762744Citizen Science for Nature Conservation in Hungary A Three-Dimensional ApproachJohanna Maribel Soria Aguirre0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4942-9372Olivér Váczi1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3303-7120Marianna Biró2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7673-1622Erika Juhász3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4715-7211Zoltán Soltész4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3423-9258Barbara Barta5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6674-3275Zsuzsanna Márton6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7420-5039Tibor Szép7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4569-7425Bálint Halpern8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0934-6246István Szentirmai9Balázs Károlyi10https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4315-5702Alexandra Czeglédi11https://orcid.org/0009-0002-8664-7886Györgyi Bela12Eszter Tormáné Kovács13https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8509-6432Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Doctoral School of Environmental Sciences, Páter Károly u.1. H-2100 Gödöllő; Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Institute for Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation, Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Páter Károly u. 1, H-2100 GödöllőHerman Ottó Intézet Nonprofit Kft., Park u. 2. H-1223 BudapestHUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, H-2163, Vácrátót; HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, National Laboratory for Health Security, Karolina út 29, H-1113, BudapestHUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, H-2163, Vácrátót; HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, National Laboratory for Health Security, Karolina út 29, H-1113, BudapestHUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, H-2163, VácrátótHUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Karolina út 29, H-1113 BudapestHUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Karolina út 29, H-1113 BudapestUniversity of Nyíregyháza, Sóstói út 31/b, H-4400 Nyíregyháza; MME BirdLife Hungary, Költő u. 21, H-1121MME BirdLife Hungary, Költő u. 21, H-1121; Eötvös University of Sciences, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Egyetem tér 1-3, H-1053, Budapest; HUN-REN-ELTE- MTM Integrative Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C. H-1117, BudapestŐrség National Park Directorate, Városszer 57. H-9941 ŐriszentpéterKözösen a Természetért Alapítvány, Királyok útja.184. 2/7, H-1039, BudapestEnvironmental Social Science Research Group (ESSRG), Ferenciek tereH-1053, Budapest; University of Pécs, Department of Ethnography and Cultural Anthropology. H-7624 Pécs, Ifjúság u 6. H-7622, PécsIDEAS Science Ltd. Oroszvár u. 5. H-1173 BudapestHungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Institute for Wildlife Management and Nature Conservation, Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Management, Páter Károly u. 1, H-2100 GödöllőNature conservation–related citizen science (NCCS) has grown rapidly worldwide in previous years. In Hungary, a few citizen science (CS) projects have been operating for years and some have only recently launched. Our aim herein is to assess the performance of eight Hungarian NCCS projects in three dimensions: a) science, b) nature conservation, and c) participants’ development. An evaluation framework was developed for the assessment. Our results show that the Common Bird Monitoring Program performed the best overall. This is also the oldest NCCS project in the country. When comparing the performance per dimension, the majority of the projects tended to have good performances in the science dimension. Most of the projects ensure data quality using different strategies. However, the need for open data and processing the project results for generating scientific publications still needs to be tackled by some NCCS initiatives. Regarding the nature conservation dimension, data generated have been mostly used in monitoring species/ecosystems, whereas data is less commonly used for conservation policy-making. It was identified that the participants’ development dimension has not received sufficient attention, and neither learning outcomes nor behavioral and attitude change has been evaluated by any projects. Our results of evaluating Hungarian NCCS initiatives in a complex way may offer insights for project managers and coordinators to identify which dimension are performing well and which areas need improvement. Also, our framework serves as a model that can be applied to current and future NCCS initiatives.https://account.theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/index.php/up-j-cstp/article/view/762citizen sciencemultidimensional assessmentsciencenature conservationenvironmental educationhungaryinterviews
spellingShingle Johanna Maribel Soria Aguirre
Olivér Váczi
Marianna Biró
Erika Juhász
Zoltán Soltész
Barbara Barta
Zsuzsanna Márton
Tibor Szép
Bálint Halpern
István Szentirmai
Balázs Károlyi
Alexandra Czeglédi
Györgyi Bela
Eszter Tormáné Kovács
Citizen Science for Nature Conservation in Hungary A Three-Dimensional Approach
Citizen Science: Theory and Practice
citizen science
multidimensional assessment
science
nature conservation
environmental education
hungary
interviews
title Citizen Science for Nature Conservation in Hungary A Three-Dimensional Approach
title_full Citizen Science for Nature Conservation in Hungary A Three-Dimensional Approach
title_fullStr Citizen Science for Nature Conservation in Hungary A Three-Dimensional Approach
title_full_unstemmed Citizen Science for Nature Conservation in Hungary A Three-Dimensional Approach
title_short Citizen Science for Nature Conservation in Hungary A Three-Dimensional Approach
title_sort citizen science for nature conservation in hungary a three dimensional approach
topic citizen science
multidimensional assessment
science
nature conservation
environmental education
hungary
interviews
url https://account.theoryandpractice.citizenscienceassociation.org/index.php/up-j-cstp/article/view/762
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