Citizen Science in Major Development Assessment

This paper investigates the role of Citizen Science in planning processes that seek to secure environmental conservation, drawing on new empirical data from Sydney, Australia, for the case of Citizen Science around the Chullora Wetlands. Through in-depth qualitative interviewing and deskwork, a detailed account is presented of the input and contestation of diverse actors within the approval processes around a major development, over the period from 1991 to 2012. The analysis demonstrates the development of Citizen Science in response to varied treatment of citizen contributors and contributions to a series of episodes of statutory processes embedded in a shifting political context. Findings highlight the importance of the creativity and relational tenacity of the particular groups of volunteers involved in achieving the wetlands in the Sydney case and leveraging additional societal benefi ts. More widely, the case demonstrated the importance of: independent agency of civil society organizations, which can interact with but are not dependent on statutory actors; status and legitimacy derived from scientifi c credentials; and collaborative work before, throughout and beyond decision-making processes.