Empowering local voices for conservation in Nigeria

We are pleased to share that our team member, Dr. Gideon Gywa, has facilitated a 2024 Connecting Ecologists with Other Disciplines funded project by the British Ecological Society on enhancing citizen science engagement through social media to improve biodiversity data collection and conservation education for transformative conservation actions in Nigeria.

The funded project facilitated by our team member involved interactive sessions with local stakeholders through focus group trainings across 18 different local communities in Nigeria, as well as fieldwork in the form of a BioBlitz. This project aims to educate local communities on developing digitised methods for biodiversity recording via social media, which are essential for building communities of knowledge and establishing broader, more systematic monitoring of selected taxa using existing protocols.

The fieldwork data collected will support the development of a simple and effective citizen science approach to improving evidence-based conservation planning in a biodiversity-rich country like Nigeria. This work complements the broader efforts needed to implement the ambitious targets of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework 2030.

Projects like this highlight the power of collaboration and local action in shaping a more sustainable and biodiverse future!