OpenLitterMap and the SDGs
In this article we will explore some of the links between OpenLitterMap, citizen science and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Citizen science, and mapping plastic pollution in particular, does not just cover all SDGs, we go beyond them.
1: Poverty is exacerbated by pollution. We need to empower people with data collection tools to map, educate and resolve pollution.
2: Zero hunger: plastic is killing biodiversity and marine life in particular which provides a huge amount of protein and food especially in the developing world. Fishstocks are already depleted by 90% and the remaining life is now challenged by about ~150m tonnes of plastic rotting in the oceans that will continue to break up into smaller and smaller pieces forever.
3. Good health and well being: Humans and even newborn babies are now contaminated by plastic pollution which is in us and our food. Citizen science is a positive environmental outdoor covid-friendly activity that reconnects people with nature.
4. Quality education: traditional education has not caught up with citizen science. Most universities don’t even teach citizen science and are not capable of developing good quality data collection experiences. We are pioneering a new, global, open and unrestricted access to scientific progress that will empower young people in particular to make a massive difference by empowering society with open source data collection tools.
5: Gender equality: Anyone can participate in citizen science. There are no gender dimensions and data collection has a remarkably low barrier to entry making litter mapping in particular an important catalyst for the development of citizen science and the forthcoming rapid production of global data.
6: Clean water + sanitation: Tap-water now contains plastic pollution and waste dumpsites are a huge problem in the developing world.
7: Affordable & clean energy: Citizen science can help people learn how to use their technology more responsibly (eg. collecting data about nature instead of endless scrolling which creates a form of digital litter). Geospatial literacy is an important prerequisite for an informed political and consumer decision which has global energy implications.
8: Decent work and economic growth: Citizen science is social media 2.0 which is opening up new opportunities for sustainable economic development, complemented by the Littercoin economy which is targeting and incentivising economic activity in the climate economy only.
9: Industry, Innovation and infrastructure: Many old buildings contain a huge amount of carbon but our infrastructure is falling apart. People need crowdsourcing tools to map them and hold government and stakeholders accountable.
10: Reduced Inequalities: Marginalised communities are disproportionately effected by pollution.
11: Sustainable cities + communities: Citizen science is the social media that smart cities need to operate.
12: Responsible consumption and production: Our users map the waste produced by global corporates and get rewarded with participation in the climate economy only.
13: Climate action: Citizen science *is* climate action. Instead of protesting about it, why not take out your device and start collecting data about how badly polluted the world is?
14: Life below water: There is about 150m tonnes of plastic rotting in the oceans.
15: Life on land: It’s basically impossible to take even a simple walk in many parts of the world without plastic pollution littered virtually everywhere. Not only is this just totally depressing and going to become a huge problem for mental health, its contaminating soil and threatening wildlife.
16: Peace, justice, and strong institutions. Citizen science is a shared, peace-building activity that empowers people to hold ineffective governments and producers of pollution accountable.
17: Partnerships for the goals. Citizen science is bringing the world together. Every student, university and institution in the world has access to OpenLitterMap code and data.
Sign up and empower yourself with citizen science @ openlittermap.com
Thank you to Project Catalyst on Cardano for our 1st funding after 12 years applying to my native Ireland to develop citizen science.
