Engaging communities for prioritising natural resource management and biodiversity conservation actions

Citizen science has a significant contribution to Natural Resource Management (NRM) through the acquisition and sharing of knowledge. Innovative online technology is playing an increasing role in the support and implementation of citizen science activities. Two projects being conducted in Victoria are using web-based spatial applications to facilitate and support the use of community sourced information for natural resource management and biodiversity conservation. The Natural Resource Management planning portal (NRMPP) is a regional catchment planning tool designed for Catchment Management Authorities and Landcare organisations to plan and prioritise natural resource management works. State-wide Flora and Fauna Teams (SWIFFT) is network of community groups, individuals and organisations that is underpinned by online technology to share knowledge and data on biodiversity issues throughout Victoria. Open source web-based spatial platforms are being used to deliver existing data from multiple sources, provide tools for the entry of spatial data and to provide information required for decision making. The focus of the two projects is to build knowledge management systems with tools that can be used by the community, land managers and other stakeholders to manage, control and share their own data in an online environment. Submission and sharing of community biodiversity and NRM data using online spatial platforms, and federating it with regional, state and national environmental data is facilitating community engagement and providing a process for identifying opportunities to collaborate on NRM activities and biodiversity conservation projects