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10-07-2026

A new citizen science framework for environmental monitoring in fossil fuel extraction contexts presented at the POLLEN (Political Ecology Network) conference

The Political Ecology Network, POLLEN 2026, held in Barcelona in June 2026, is the main European political ecology conference, an international reference space where researchers, activists and institutions debate environmental justice, ecological conflicts and participatory methodologies. In this framework, the Institute for Research on Biodiversity of the University of Barcelona (IRBio–UB) has had a prominent participation with the presentation of the ERICA project: Environmental Monitoring through Civic Engagement, in which researchers Martí Orta and Gorka Muñoa, from IRBio-UB, participate.

 The contribution of Dr.Orta and Dr.Muñoa has been central to showing how citizen science can strengthen environmental monitoring in territories affected by the fossil fuel industry. This intervention highlighted the importance of co-creating knowledge with local communities, especially in contexts where environmental and health impacts are associated with different industries related to fossil fuels.

 The ERICA project has adapted this framework to the three European territories where it has been implemented: the petrochemical complex of Tarragona, the oil extraction area of Basilicata (Italy) and the mining region of Konin (Poland).

 The project contribution has been key to analyzing how the social, political and cultural dynamics of each place condition citizen participation, the relationship with extractive companies and the perception of environmental damage. Based on ethnographic data collected in focus groups, IRBio researchers have shown that the principles of citizen science allow contextualizing environmental monitoring within the histories and conflicts of each territory, strengthening the relationship between research, local communities and environmental governance.

 Dr. Orta and Dr. Muñoa’s participation invites critical contributions on: 

  • citizen science and conflict, including, but not limited to, litigation, exposing strategies and practices of corporate social irresponsibility, blindfolded and biased enforcement.
  • the use of citizen science methods for communication purposes by activists, reflections on the relationship between citizens, scientists and technologists, and the funding structures that motivate many citizen science projects.
  • how citizen science and co-production can contribute to the decolonization of research in political ecology.
  • the different roles of citizens in research, for example in project governance, data collection, analysis and data dissemination.
  • how technologies such as smartphones, drones, or air, water, and soil quality measurement instruments allow communities to collect data and monitor environmental damage..

 
The different types of methods that can be used in a political ecology approach, such as visual methods as a way to better recognize plural place-based knowledge.

The presentation of the ERICA project at POLLEN 2026 has had a special relevance because the congress is a space where methodological and policy trends in political ecology are defined on an international scale.

For more information about ERICA: info@ericaproject.eu — www.ericaproject.eu

Reference: Following the principles of citizen science to co-create participatory environmental monitoring in fossil fuel extraction sites: lessons from the ERICA project. Lis A., Pellegrini L., Santoriello, G., Ossola, R., Dziubata-Smykowska, K., Sucholas, J., Muñoa G., Savoldi, F. & Orta-Martínez, M.