Citizen Science in China

In recent years, "citizen science" has spread across the globe, allowing people from all walks of life to contribute to scientific studies. For all-encompassing issues such as climate change, this approach has been instrumental in gathering new kinds of data from hard-to-access front lines.

Dr. Peng Kui, Program Manager at the Global Environmental Institute (GEI), has spearheaded a number of citizen science projects in China's Sanjiangyuan region in the west of the country, which hosts the headwaters of China's largest rivers. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Tyson, an expert on global citizen science initiatives at the Wilson Center, has been exploring citizen science initiatives in China and working with partners such as Peng Kui to help design innovative win-win projects wherein local people gather data on the health of these rivers and receive job training in sustainable industries.

On our show, Peng Kui and Elizabeth discuss the prospects for the nascent citizen science movement in China. You can find more on Peng Kui's work on the GEI website and Elizabeth's work on the Wilson Center website, or on the New Security Beat blog of the Wilson Center.