Environmental Citizen Science and its Effects on Participants, Governance and Innovation Climate change is accelerating its impact on development. This complex problem with individual and institutional dimensions must be addressed from a systemic perspective. This report presents the results of two experiments in which we tested two environmental citizen science solutions, demonstrating the potential of this approach to address this problem. The first was an initiative to separate household waste and evaluate its effects on people's commitment and willingness to care for the environment. 

Throughout the experiment, there were indications of a positive correlation between age, educational level, and pro-environmental behaviours in participants before treatment. Although no effects were observed on post-treatment variation in environmental engagement, this may be linked to the self-selection bias of the volunteers who participated. Contrary to expectations, the control group showed increased environmental commitment. This increase may be related to the participation of both groups in a survey on environmental issues, which, given the control group's lower pro-environmental inclination, could have had an effect in this regard. 

Another result suggested correlations between education, age, and increased environmental engagement post-treatment, but the evidence was inconclusive. The second experiment was a massive collaboration experience in aquatic ecosystems, using a mobile application that creates georeferenced environmental quality indicators. This sought to understand the effects of citizen science on environmental governance, increasing the quantity and quality of information obtained and promoting innovation in local environmental policies. In the three cities where the app was implemented, it helped collect valuable information about the state of their aquatic ecosystems. In addition, we obtained qualitative evidence of greater coordination between government areas to work on these policies. In the city where citizens participated in mapping, the resulting data reflected a greater diversity of perspectives and experiences about the natural environment. 

This article was originally published at: https://www.undp.org/es/citizen_science_experimentation_