Subject and goals of the project

One challenge in achieving the Sustainable Development Goal "Life on Land" (SDG 15) adopted by the United Nations (UN), as well as for meeting the planetary boundary of biodiversity loss described by Johan Rockström, is the conservation of habitats and species of threatened species. A prerequisite for assessing the status of populations and habitats is the collection and analysis of relevant characteristic data. The required expertise with regard to relevant species is increasingly being lost. In particular, it has hardly been possible so far to pass on the knowledge of technical experts to interested laypersons and to qualify them in such a way that they can be integrated into appropriate monitoring approaches. The project was the first time that a citizen science approach to butterfly monitoring was tested, implemented and communicated to an interested public and experts in Hungary in a Hungarian national park in a cooperation between German and Hungarian nature conservation actors with the participation of scientific experts from the field of biodiversity research.

In Hungary, citizen engagement and participation in scientific and conservation contexts in the form of Citizen Science was hardly known. Therefore, the aim was to establish a network of qualified volunteers for the Hungarian Őrség National Park and the surrounding Natura 2000 sites, who collect data on the butterfly populations there under expert supervision. From the data collected, conservation measures were derived and land use perspectives suitable for nature conservation were established. In addition, the term Citizen Science, which is hardly known in Hungary, was introduced and widely communicated as a form of participatory voluntary science-related engagement.

There were three work packages (WP):

• WP 1 – Establishment and qualification of a volunteer network with information sessions at 21 Hungarian educational institutions with subsequent qualification of volunteers for data collection based on theoretical mediation and practical qualification in the context of field surveys and complementary volunteer days and actions for the butterfly collectors and their families: within the framework of this work package, a butterfly summer camp and workshop with a moth light trapping and discussion and working sessions for knowledge transfer in Germany were organized.
  
  
• WP 2 – Prepare and conduct data collection with creation of a homepage dedicated to the input of monitoring data: Besides the online platform, an OpenBioMaps (OBM)-based app for mobile devices has been created and put into operation. In addition to the data entry app, an interactive game was developed to add a playful experience factor to field data entry.
  Data collection was conducted through hands-on field surveys in 17 designated butterfly transects in cooperation with two secondary schools and adult volunteers (43 butterfly species were recorded in 2018; 78 butterfly species were recorded in 2019). Land management was adapted to the species population and a modified land use concept was created. A volunteer day was held each year in recognition of volunteer work performed.
  
  
• WP 3 – The processing and communication of the project results took place in the form of a workshop with 54 experts in Hungary. One of the important results of the workshop was the adaptation of the butterfly recording in Hungary to the European monitoring concept of Butterfly Conservation Europe. A butterfly recording guide in Hungarian is now available on the Butterfly Conservation Europe homepage. Furthermore, a "Butterfly Adventure Day" was established in the Örség National Park for interested citizens of the region. The communication of the project results also took place in the form of a permanent exhibition. At the end of the project, Örség National Park organized a workshop for representatives of Hungarian national parks, civil environmental organizations, other volunteer groups and ministries.

Innovation and exemplary nature of the project

The project of the Örség National Park (ÖNP) to implement a project according to Citizen Science criteria was unique and new not only for the ŐNP and the region of Western Hungary, but for the whole of Hungary. Innovative methods and instruments for cooperation with voluntary participants from civil society were developed and applied as a model based on a concrete implementation goal.

Furthermore, the project introduced the concept of Citizen Science, which is hardly known in Hungary, as a form of civic science-related engagement and participation in scientific processes, and demonstrated its potential for the whole of Hungary in an exemplary manner.

The entire communication and education concept with all components including the internet platform and the app for butterfly recording can be adapted to other contexts and was presented to the other Hungarian national parks and offered for use.

Special aspects of the project

A unique feature of the project was that experienced actors from practical nature conservation, but also from the field of biodiversity research and environmental education from Germany participated in the realization of the project and contributed their many years of experience in the field of citizen science (including wildcat monitoring and butterfly monitoring in Germany) to the project.

Another important aspect was the targeted activation of Hungarian young people, who participated in many of the implemented measures. They participated in the summer camp and in workshops in Germany and Hungary, as well as in professional days for young butterfly monitors. A permanent exhibition was also designed by them.

Funding subject: Nature conservation and sustainable use of nature in cultural landscapes and protected areas

Cooperation partners:

• Wildtierland Hainich gGmbH, Germany
• Örség National Park, Hungary

Associated partners:

• Butterfly Monitoring Germany (TMD)
• Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research GmbH (UFZ), Department of Biocoenosis Research
• Hainich National Park
• Nature Park Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal

Locations:

• Germany (focus: Hainich National Park, Eichsfeld-Hainich-Werratal Nature Park)
• Hungary (focus: Örség National Park)

Funding period: October 2017 to December 2019, Download final report

Project costs: Total volume: 309 058 Euro, DBU funding: 153 311 Euro

DBU-AZ: 33793

Note: Translation of the German version with DeepL

Last updated: 16.11.2021