Community-based monitoring for environmental sustainability: A review of characteristics and the synthesis of criteria

Community-Based Workshops to Involve Rural Communities in Wildlife Management Case Study: Bighorn Sheep in Baja California, Mexico

The description of natural history, and information on the factors threatening conservation, the distribution area, and the status of species population are necessary for proper wildlife management. The objective of this research was to generate such information in two rural communities and to engage residents in bighorn sheep management through a program of three workshops. The first one covered training regarding natural history and management of the species. The second one consisted in the description of the habitat of the species through a dynamic of participatory mapping. The third, include a design of a one strategy to monitor the bighorn sheep population. The workshops were attended by 37 people from the two rural communities. The results suggest the economic element was the main interest of the inhabitants regarding the bighorn sheep. Eleven risk factors were identified to the bighorn sheep in the study sites, a participatory map with relevant information for the management of the species on each community was developed, and a monitoring strategy of the bighorn sheep population was prepared. The workshop program proposed in this research is a tool that can be applied in rural communities to lay the groundwork for a long-term management project of wildlife species.

Community-Based Monitoring in the New Normal: A Strategy for Tackling the COVID-19 Pandemic in Malaysia

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted the global public health system and led to many deaths worldwide. COVID-19 is highly contagious and can be spread by symptomatic or asymptomatic individuals. As such, determining the risk of infection within a community is difficult. To mitigate the risk of the spread of COVID-19, the government of Malaysia implemented seven phases of the movement control order (MCO) from 18 March to 31 December 2020. However, the socioeconomic cost was substantial despite the effectiveness of the MCO in bringing down cases of infection. As noted by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, the final criterion that should be met is community empowerment. In other words, community-based mitigation measures through which communities unite to contain the pandemic are essential before the completion of the vaccination program. As a measure for controlling the pandemic, mitigation strategies in the new normal should be feasible, practical, and acceptable to communities. In this paper, we present a deliberation of a set of community-based monitoring criteria to ensure health and well-being in communities, such as efficacy, technicality, feedback, and sustainability. The proposed criteria will be instrumental in developing community-based monitoring initiatives to achieve the desired goals in coping with the pandemic as well as in empowering communities to be part of the governance process.