Accepted Paper
Short Abstract
Citizens (Indigenous Rangers, residents and farmers) are contributing critical data and information to a collaborative environmental flows project. The co-produced data are accessed via an interactive web map. Participants are surveyed to describe their learnings and experiences from the project.
Abstract
Environmental flows are implemented in many countries to mitigate the negative impacts of river regulation on river ecosystems. Environmental flows are delivered to support river, wetland, and floodplain ecosystems in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) in Australia. Monitoring, evaluation, and research of environmental flows is undertaken through the Australian Government’s Flow-MER Program.
Citizen scientists (Indigenous River Rangers, local residents and farmers) are contributing critical flow data in the Mid-Murray catchment by recording water depth on static gauges in locations where there are no automated gauges. The data collected by the citizens complements depth and flow data recorded by automated hydrometric stations at other sites. The project provides information that is used by scientists, irrigators and the broader community. The co-produced data can be accessed on a user-friendly interactive web-based map, along with other monitoring data from the area.
In addition to contributing data for the evaluation of environmental flows, this collaborative and inclusive project aims to increase citizen’s knowledge of hydrology and environmental flows. Evaluation includes 1) a short questionnaire that participants are encouraged to complete multiple times over the project, and 2) qualitative interviews with a selection of participants to gather in-depth stories. Topics explored include: Did the project increase citizens knowledge? Did the citizens access and use the co-produced data? What are the key lessons regarding improving the public understanding of hydrology and environmental flows? What were the experiences of citizens from their involvement in this collaborative project?
Bridging the gap between climate service providers and citizens for enhancing climate resilience