Moving forward requires talking to each other. The European Citizen Science Association (ECSA) will hold its 6th conference from 3-6 March 2026 at the University of Oulu, Finland, a cornerstone event for the European citizen science community from which more4nature could not be absent.
The theme of this year’s edition of the ECSA conference explores citizen science as a bridge between centre and periphery. The goal is to recognize the diversity of contexts in which citizen science unfolds, from urban metropolitan hubs to remote northern and southern spaces and emphasises its role to bring communities and knowledge together.
more4nature will contribute to ECSA 2026 through the following initiatives:
Demonstrating a CitiObs, more4nature and AD4GD solution to establish liability into citizens generated data for decisions in crises situations
Convenors: Joan Masó (CREAF), Andreas Matheus (Secure Dimensions)
Managing crises can be improved based on citizen science-based decision ready information.
In this workshop, you will learn how to use a technological ecosystem designed to manage
trusted citizen generated data assets. These immutable assets allow for proving liability
in decision making.
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Involving citizens in Denmark in monitoring the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
Participants: Finn Danielsen (NORDECO), Gitte Kragh (Aarhus University, NORDECO),
Aja Faurschou (NORDECO).
We aim to share insights from the more4nature project on how citizen science data—particularly from Denmark’s
national and local biodiversity citizen science programmes—can inform and populate GBF indicators and assess
whether such data are being used in official CBD reporting by the Government.
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This contribution is part of the Workshop ‘Biodiversity monitoring and enforcement across centre and periphery:
Exploring the interplay between citizen science, technology, law and policy’.
Learn about the workshop
Can Citizen Science contribute to decolonize forest governance?
Convenors: Finn Danielsel (NORDECO), Mathew Bukhi Mabele,
Monika Suškevičs (Estonian University of Life Sciences),
Suma Kibonde (University of Dar es Salaam),
Ernst Jürgensen (Danmission).
This workshop explores how and to what extent citizen science applied to forest governance
can decolonize forest management, e.g. through approaches grounded in Indigenous and
grassroots knowledge. Participants are invited to share lessons on empowering citizens
and improving forest governance. In this workshop, more4nature will showcase its use case
with the citizen initiative “It is Our Forest, Too” in Cambodia.
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Translating Potential into Policy: Updated Mapping of Citizen Science Contributions to SDGs for Environmental Compliance Assurance.
Authors: Bianca Cruz (Earthwatch Europe), Stephen Parkinson (Earthwatch Europe and University of Nottingham),
James Sprinks (Earthwatch Europe), Uta Wehn (IHE Delft), Line Barkved (Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA)),
Eleonore Maitre-Ekern (Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA)), Anna Witter (Earthwatch),
Sasha Woods (Earthwatch Europe), Joan Maso (CREAF).
Updated mapping of CS contributions to SDG indicators (10 contributing, 79 potential) defines strategic pathways
for Environmental Compliance Assurance. We show how this clarity counters vague policy language identified in
compliance frameworks, enabling effective Citizen Generated Data uptake.
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This paper has been accepted as part of the panel ‘Influencing policy through Citizen Science:
Case studies and lessons learned‘.
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Influencing policy through participatory science: Lessons learned from community-based monitoring and citizen science in Western Canada.
Authors: Brenda Parlee (McGill University), Finn Danielsen (NORDECO), Rob Stuart.
The work highlights diverse kinds of community-based monitoring and citizen science initiatives from western Canada. What can we learn about the influence participatory monitoring for policy making? What are the opportunities and challenges of this work moving forward?
Read more about this paper
This paper has been accepted as part of the panel ‘Influencing policy through Citizen Science:
Case studies and lessons learned‘.
Read about the panel
Increasing and institutionalizing citizen science contributions to environmental compliance assurance: the more4nature socio-technical approach.
Participants: Uta Wehn (IHE Delft)
Increasing and institutionalizing citizen science contributions to ECA implies connecting the individual plans and actions of civil society and institutional actors. This requires fostering social readiness, i.e. changing mind sets and behaviours, as much as addressing technical challenges.
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This contribution is part of the Rountable ‘Bridging the Citizen Science data-to-policy gap: Leveraging data readiness level frameworks to create pathways for actionable environmental insights’.
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Quantifying Citizen Science’s Potential: Bridging SDG Data Gaps and Policy for Collaborative Environmental Compliance
Authors: Authors: Bianca Cruz (Earthwatch Europe), James Sprinks (Earthwatch Europe), Sasha Woods (Earthwatch Europe), Stephen Parkinson (Earthwatch Europe and University of Nottingham), Uta Wehn (IHE Delft), Line Barkved (Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Eleonore Maitre-Ekern (Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Anna Witter (Earthwatch), Joan Maso (CREAF).
An updated mapping of CS initiatives to SDGs, which maps and quantifies alignment across 79 indicators. This evidence roadmap addresses “vague policy language” hindering Citizen Generated Data uptake in Environmental Compliance Assurance for zero pollution, biodiversity, and deforestation.
Learn more about this poster
This poster is part of the ECSA poster session. Read more about this session.
Read about the poster session
The European Citizen Science Association is a membership organisation set up in 2014 and a partner of the more4nature project. ECSA’s main goals are to increase the democratisation of science, encourage the growth of citizen science in Europe, and support the participation of the public in research processes across the natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, and the arts.
