Use of citizen science and crowdsourced information to support resilient pastoral systems

Crowdsourcing and the use of citizen science can generate near real-time, easily interpretable information that supports pastoralists in informed decision-making and resilience building in the face of intensifying climate extremes and other production risks. Leveraging partnerships with government institutions at both national and local levels, along with NGOs and rangeland management committees, provides a critical pathway to addressing information gaps through crowdsourcing approaches while simultaneously strengthening capacity for resource management and resilience programming. At the same time, important contextual heterogeneities exist, underscoring the need for continued investment in capacity building to improve access to, understanding of, and effective use of crowdsourced data across different settings.