Student monitoring of the ecological quality of neotropical urban streams

Most Latin American demands for drinking water are in or near urban areas. However, population growth and untreated sewage disposal degrade water quality, with negative effects for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Mobilizing society to monitor quality of urban watercourses facilitates training a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ambio 2019-08, Vol.48 (8), p.867-878
Main Authors: França, Juliana Silva, Solar, Ricardo, Hughes, Robert M., Callisto, Marcos
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Assessments
Atmospheric Sciences
Biodiversity
Drinking water
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecological monitoring
Ecology
Ecosystem services
Ecosystems
Environment
Environmental Engineering/Biotechnology
Environmental Management
environmental monitoring
Environmental stress
habitats
Human influences
Metropolitan areas
participation (behavior)
Physical Geography
Population growth
Public participation
Public policy
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Science education
Sewage
Sewage disposal
streams
students
surface water
teachers
Teaching methods
Urban areas
waste disposal
Water bodies
Water quality
Watercourses
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Summary:Most Latin American demands for drinking water are in or near urban areas. However, population growth and untreated sewage disposal degrade water quality, with negative effects for biodiversity and ecosystem services. Mobilizing society to monitor quality of urban watercourses facilitates training and allows diagnosis that may further help implement mitigation and management strategies. Therefore, our research was conducted in a > 4000 km² metropolitan region of high human influence. Urban water body assessments were conducted by 1965 teachers and students and their consistency validated by rigorous scientific methods. The assessments revealed degradation of physical habitat, water quality, or biology in 91% of the evaluated urban stream sites. Increased knowledge concerning environmental stressors and biological responses by local citizens may increase their participation in public policy development and implementation. We conclude that participatory scientific monitoring is a viable way for improving science education, increasing social participation, and improving the ecosystem services provided by urban watercourses.
ISSN:0044-7447
1654-7209
DOI:10.1007/s13280-018-1122-z