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Abstract
The practice of citizen science (CS) is emerging in China as an apparatus for environmental monitoring (EM). It complements the State’s EM system by ameliorating its coverage, continuity, and accuracy. It has achieved remarkable results in fostering public participation, information transparency, and accountability of State authorities. While acknowledging these achievements, we contend that such an instrumental use of CS cannot deliver the innovative solutions needed to cope with China’s socio-ecological crisis. In fact, it may reinforce the anthropocentric and technocratic vision of progress that lies at the roots of China’s – and the World’s – dramatic environmental emergency. We therefore propose a framework for transforming the practice of China’s CS beyond its current patterns. The framework is structured along three pathways: ecological awareness, emotional responsiveness, and institutional engagement. Emerging trends consistent with these pathways are introduced in the paper, and their scientific and institutional relevance discussed.
Acknowledgments
I drafted this paper during a writing retreat in Seitseminen National Park, Finland. I express my gratitude to Angela Moriggi, who made the retreat possible. I am thankful to the animals and plants whose environment I shared while staying in the forest – particularly to the red squirrels living in the wooden stable that served as a meditation spot. I also wish to thank the participants of the symposium “Data, Technology and Digitalization & Environmental Governance in China,” held in Hannover in Spring 2018. There I introduced a preliminary idea for this paper, receiving in return very constructive feedback. Finally, I wish to thank the anonymous reviewer whose severe but fair judgment helped me a lot to improve this manuscript.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes
1 To describe this paradigm, other authors employ the term ‘transformative’ instead of ‘co-creative’ (e.g Conrad and Hilchey Citation2011). As we shall explain in detail in the next paragraph, we use the term ‘transformative’ to charaterize the intended outcomes of CS (i.e., triggering and sustaining transformative change for sustainability), rather than to describe its process.
2 The oldest CS project still operating is the monarch butterfly monitoring in Northern America, launched in 1975 (CEC Citation2009).
3 The expression refers to all non-human entities on earth. It defies human-nature dichotomies and endorses an ethical obligation of caring towards the planet (Tsing et al. Citation2017).
4 On the contrary, incremental change endorses weak sustainability, since it preserves core socio-economic norms and political structures. On weak sustainability, see Gutés (Citation1996) and Martinez-Alier (Citation1995).
5 Stoppani described modern civilization as a “new telluric force [. . .] [whose] power and universality may be compared to the greater forces of earth” (Stoppani 1873, in Crutzen Citation2002, p. 23).
6 For a digression on ‘alternative anthropocenes’, see the inspiring works by Tsing et al. (Citation2017) and Steffen et al. (Citation2018).
7 On trans-disciplinarity and how it differs from inter- and multi-disciplinarity, see Bernstein (Citation2015).
8 With reference to intersectoral dialogue, collaborative CS has proven its value also (Conrad and Hilchey Citation2011).
9 This requires mobilizing the appropriate resources in terms of human and social capital, as well as an adequate level of scientific literacy within the community. On resources for CBEM, see Conrad and Daoust (Citation2008).
10 On the concept of ‘instititutional entrepreneur,’ see Brombal and Moriggi (Citation2017).
11 See e.g. the experience of Birding Beijing, here: https://birdingbeijing.com/about/
12 Number of observations input in the Birdwatch Report Centre increased from 17 in the first year to 3,701 in 2013 (Data source: author’s calculation from http://www.birdreport.cn).
13 Data collected in a workshop involving activists and scientists involved in CS (Hsu, Weinfurter, and Yan Citation2017, 13). On environmental CS trends in China, see also: Freshwater Watch n.d., Geall Citation2012, GEI n.d. Tyson Citation2016, Philips Citation2016, Ramzy Citation2015.
14 Formally, only authorised bodies are allowed to collect environmental data (Hsu, Weinfurter, and Yan Citation2017).
15 Decisions pursuant to territorial planning are a typical example of these administrative processes.
16 On weak sustainability, see Gutés (Citation1996) and Martinez-Alier (Citation1995).
17 The habit of labeling as ‘scientific’ (科学; 科学的) thoughts and behaviours that are politically appropriate dates back to the Maoist era (Link Citation2013; Schoenals Citation1992).
18 This has long influenced environmental activists. A notorious example is the controversial planning of the Three Gorges Dam. Both its proponents and detractors made rhetorical use of scientific discourses to support their claims (Boland Citation1998).
19 On material yearnings, desire, and power see the work of Lisa Rofel (Citation2007).
20 Wildlife is intended here as inclusive of both flora and fauna.
21 Rachel Carson, one of the founding mothers of the environmental movement, made of birds – or rather of their absence – a symbol of man-made destruction of the environment. Hence the title of her volume Silent Spring (1962).
22 Which of course does not prevent the damages to the habitat being made by the ski track.
23 On the nexus between CS and conservation science, see McKinley et al. Citation2017.
24 The Little Donkey Farm (小毛驴市民农园), located in the western suburbs of Beijing, is reportedly the oldest CSA in China. See: https://www.littledonkeyfarm.com/plugin.php?id=aiview_dzx:pages.
25 The original Chinese denomination of the genre include flowers, birds, fish, and insects.
26 An updated version of the paper is available from: http://datadriven.yale.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Third_Wave_Exec_Summary_FINAL.pdf.
27 Some of the initiatives tackled more than one issue; hence the total of 14 records reported in figure.