Citizen scientists' important contributions to sustainable development are constrained by their focus on data collection and public outreach in wealthy, accessible places. Sustainable development actions require initiatives in which data collected by land owners and resource users help to guide local decision-makers on resource management.

In this short correspondence paper in the Nature journal, it is discussed how the fields of 'citizen science' and 'participatory monitoring and management' - as undertaken in the Arctic - could benefit from each other. The paper is co-authored by Finn Danielsen (NORDECO), Rod Kennett (Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies) and Kirsten M. Silvius (Virginia Tech University).

Access the paper at http://www.monitoringmatters.org/articles/Kennett2015.pdf.