Enhancing Biodiversity Monitoring in Catalonia with Citizen Science – Workshop

Addressing key challenges for the integration of citizen science data into the Green Deal Data Space

Habitat connectivity is an important biodiversity indicator that gives insights on how species can move within the territory. Both habitat use and physical structure of a landscape play a role defining connectivity and greatly influencing the dynamics of animal communities. Having updated and optimized habitat connectivity indices is essential to support the nature protection objectives set up in the EU Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, the Convention on Biodiversity and the EU Natural Restoration Law. 

AD4GD leads a biodiversity pilot focused on improving habitat connectivity indices for Catalonia for the main habitat categories. For this, we believe in the value of integrating different sources of data: land use and land cover maps obtained from remote sensing satellites, species occurrence observations, IoT sensors on the ground and also data generated within Citizen Science initiatives. 

This interactive workshop will explore current challenges in data management and interoperability within citizen science projects to better include the key data they generate in the calculation of habitat connectivity indices in Catalonia. Participants will collaboratively identify key obstacles in their data journey from the field to decision-making. Ideas and open dialogues will be generated on potential ways to address these barriers. By the end of the workshop, participants will have developed a deeper understanding of the challenges and sparked initial ideas for improving data interoperability. This event will also provide valuable opportunities for networking and collaboration, fostering connections between citizen scientists and decision-makers. 

“If you are interested in participating in this workshop please write an e-mail to ad4gd@fit.fraunhofer.de stating your name, affiliation and the name of the workshop. Subsequently, our team will get in touch with you.”

Main questions adressed 

• ●  What are the main challenges you face in providing or consuming data?
• ●  How do the needs of data consumers differ from the assumptions made by data providers?
• ●  What are potential solutions to enhance data interoperability and usability?
• ●  How can these solutions be scaled and sustained over time?

Check the agenda