Mapping India’s Biodiversity: Help Us Build the First Comprehensive Citizen Science Inventory

The landscape of Citizen Science (CS) in India is exploding. From massive national events like the City Nature Challenge to localized efforts like annual city bird atlases and tree surveys, the power of public participation is transforming how we document our natural world.

Recent global data shows just how vital this work is: platforms like iNaturalist have documented nearly a quarter of all known species on Earth, with a staggering two-thirds of those observations occurring in 2024 alone. In fact, over 50% of biodiversity occurrence records globally now come from citizen scientists.

The Challenge: Scattered Knowledge

Despite this rapid growth, India’s biodiversity-focused CS ecosystem remains fragmented. Information on active initiatives, their geographic reach, and their data quality is currently scattered across various platforms and organizations. This lack of a consolidated “big picture” makes it difficult for researchers, policymakers, and even prospective volunteers to know where to direct their efforts.

The Project: Citizen Science for Biodiversity Documentation in India

To address this gap, Ram Dayal Vaishnav is conducting a PhD research project titled “Citizen Science for Biodiversity Documentation in India: Growth, Quality and Challenges”.

The goal is simple but ambitious: to compile a comprehensive, open-access inventory of every biodiversity-focused citizen science initiative in the country. This research will:

• Categorize initiatives based on their goals, technical setup, and taxonomic focus.
• Analyze trends in participation and data quality across India.
• Strengthen India’s contribution to global biodiversity documentation by highlighting strengths and identifying gaps in our current system.

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How You Can Contribute

We need the help of the community—organizers, practitioners, and dedicated volunteers—to ensure no initiative is left behind.

Ways to participate:

1. Submit: Share details of any initiative you lead or participate in. We’ve made it easy—only 5 basic questions are mandatory. Find the form at the end of this post, or at this link.
2. Check First: To avoid duplicates, please check this spreadsheet first to see if the initiative is already listed.
3. Update: Notice an error or outdated info in the spreadsheet? Add a comment directly to the cell.
4. Multiple Entries: If you are involved in several projects, feel free to submit the form multiple times.

By contributing your knowledge, you are helping build a foundational resource that will inform the design of more effective CS projects and guide future funding and policy support for biodiversity in India.

Contact Information:

For questions regarding the research, please reach out to Ram Dayal Vaishnav at ram[@]naturalist.school.

Fill the form now!