Climate, Energy and Environment Ministry announces citizen-science biodiversity survey at Sobaeksan

The Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment said the National Institute of Biological Resources will hold a joint biodiversity survey at Sobaeksan National Park on Aug. 21-22 to strengthen citizen scientists' observation and recording skills.

Teams of experts, citizen scientists and 31 university students will examine plants, birds and insects in Yeongju, North Gyeongsang Province. They will share knowledge of species ecology, survey methods and how to enter observation data. Specialists will guide the students in each group.

The survey is part of a monitoring program the institute has run since 2011 to foster citizen scientists and raise public awareness of climate change. Residents observe and record organisms around their communities, and about 100 citizen scientists join each year. Last year's survey at Byeonsanbando National Park documented 921 species and more than 4,000 records, including endangered wildlife and climate-change indicator species.

The project has amassed more than 400,000 biodiversity records for research predicting biological changes from climate change and local governments' efforts to control ecosystem-disrupting species. This year, 187 citizen-scientist observations aided monitoring of red-backed velvet flies, known as lovebugs, after they appeared in large numbers in the metropolitan area.

"We will systematically gather biological information accumulated by citizen scientists in the field and actively use it for research and policies responding to ecosystem changes, including climate change and the inflow of alien species," Yoo Ho, director of the National Institute of Biological Resources, said. "We will also continue to broaden the base for citizen-science participation."