CITIZEN SCIENCE

Collaboration with NGO's to ib l b l d b

Introduction Objectives

Over the last 30 years there have been thousands of marine citizen science projects created, engaging millions of ocean enthusiasts in the collecting and analysing of data. Marine citizen science presents a promising avenue for educating the community on marine conservation issues while at the same time utilising their resources to collect critical data that in the past was inaccessible due to budget and time commitments.

With the advancement in communication and technology, ecologists are able to access these data sets as supportive factors in their research.

To engage Indo Ocean Project community and local stakeholders in worthwhile citizen science data sets which benefit the scientific community.

By teaching Indo Ocean Project interns about various marine citizen science platforms we are allowing them to individually contribute to global data sets and continue to support these projects long after their graduation.

These programs can be continued throughout their diving career and to create citizen science advocates who can share their knowledge and support more divers to participate in the future. As an increasing number of future positions asks for this experience, it provides a valuable CV builder.