THE WILD new frontier
Citizen science takes travellers to some of the world’s most remote and beautiful destinations in the name of conservation and scientific research, writes
Justin Meneguzzi.
The hawksbill turtle is flailing as a team of volunteers gently lift the reptile out of the clear, warm waters of Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica, a breeding ground for turtles that’s also one of the most biodiverse hotspots in the world. Working quickly but carefully, the team tags the turtle, collects tissue and blood samples and takes measurements, then releases her back to her watery home.
This is an average day in the life of a citizen scientist, and weeks from now, the crucial data and insights that these volunteers have collected will be published in a research paper, to be shared with scientists working in turtle conservation around the world.
Changing travel
Fuelled by a growing cohort of conscientious travellers who want to travel while also supporting conservation and sustainability efforts, citizen science tourism has witnessed a boom in the last decade. Environmental charity Earthwatch, which connects travellers with scientific expeditions, reported a 20 per cent rise in volunteer participation in the five years leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic. More broadly, the volunteering market has also been growing apace, with 1.6 million people volunteering internationally every year.
Voluntourism has attracted fair criticism for placing inexperienced and undertrained volunteers in communities, often in ways that negatively impact
the community or deliver unclear outcomes, but Dr Matthias Hammer says citizen science tourism is different. The Executive Director of Biosphere Expeditions, a non-profit wildlife conservation organisation that runs research expeditions in ten countries, says citizen science tourism can help plug a gap in the conservation sector.
“Government funding for conservation is being slashed across the board, and private initiatives are becoming increasingly important. Citizen scientists bring two things that many projects lack: money and data collection power,” says Dr Hammer. Technology and AI have become a hot topic, but we still cannot ask a satellite to scan the Himalayas for snow leopards, nor can an algorithm replace the batteries and SD cards in camera traps needed to survey wolves in Germany’s rolling woodlands. For conservation to succeed, it inevitably needs humans with boots on the ground. Research has found that data collected by citizen scientists – who comprise people from all walks of life –is almost identical to those produced by experienced scientists.
Citizen scientist leaders
The opportunities for citizen scientists to work alongside professional conservationists are vast, taking them to wild places off limits to tourists that can only be accessed by researchers.
For instance, Biosphere Expeditions lets travellers track Arabian oryx across the
sandy Arabian Peninsula, study Asian elephants in the highlands of northern Thailand, or measure the winter dens of Sweden’s brown bears.
Guests of Conservation Africa can inch their way along Botswana’s Okavango Delta, inputting sightings of leopards, wildebeest and giraffes into GPS-enabled tablets as part of a project to help manage humanwildlife conflict. In Antarctica, Viking Expeditions invites volunteers to participate in its onboard citizen science program by collecting phytoplankton samples to help researchers better understand global warming. While the destinations these projects visit are the main drawcard, citizen science tours can also give travellers unparalleled access to pioneers in the field of conservation. Journeys
With Purpose takes travellers into the heart of Argentina’s pristine Ibera wetlands to spot jaguars and otters alongside Sofía Heinonen, executive director of Fundación Rewilding Argentina and one of BBC’s Most Influential Women of 2022.
For travellers interested in embarking on a citizen science expedition, Dr Hammer recommends checking the tour operator’s credentials, including, whether they publish peer-reviewed
Travel file
biosphere-expeditions.org
conservationafrica.net journeyswithpurpose.org
papers sharing the outcomes of their missions. Citizen science can sometimes be tiring and take you to the edge of your comfort zone, but Dr Hammer says the experience can be immensely rewarding and generate a legacy.
“When there are positive outcomes from the research, such as humanwildlife conflicts being solved or a new area being declared a national park, it creates an immense sense of achievement.”
01 Tracking giraffes at
Karoo Reserve © Journeys With Purpose 02 Partaking in citizen science with Viking in Antarctica © Justin Meneguzzi
03 Scuba diving at Redang Island, Malaysia © Nazarizal Mohammad 04 Keeping check on baby turtles in Costa Rica © Biosphere Expeditions
Samara