Project partner ECSA recently was also a partner hosting the Citizen Science and SDG conference. It was hybrid event held online and at the Museum für Naturkundein in Berlin. It addressed topics around citizen science such as the contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, e.g. good health and well-being, quality education, life on land and below water. D-NOSES partners participated in the conference with presentations on how the methodology can improve health and well being, and the role of the international odour observatory as a platform to engage the quadruple helix stakeholders.

Improving the health & well-being of affected communities by odour pollution using citizen science

Rosa Arias and Nora Salas Seoane from Ibercivis presented in the session for Citizen Science for health and well-being under the theme of Addressing global challenges.

The presentation spoke about how D-NOSES for the first time considers the perception of odours of affected citizens and associated well-being to gather real-time odour observations that frame an objective view the problem. The project aligns with SDG3, Good Health and Well-being, by guaranteeing a healthy environment and increasing the quality of life, contributing to target 3.9 reducing the deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination. Using citizen science and participatory strategies, citizens can build collaborative odour maps through the OdourCollect App, which contributes to promote dialogue between public authorities, industries and academia – quadruple helix model – to co-create innovative solutions to increase air quality and improve their well-being. Specifically, the project expects to:

  • help guaranteeing a healthy environment and increasing the quality of life
  • contribute to target 3.9 reducing the deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination
  • target 3.d from SDG 3 – strengthening the capacity of all countries for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.

At a practical level, the project is running 10 pilots in 9 countries in Europe, Chile and Uganda to improve the health and well-being of citizens by influencing policies at the local, national and global levels. One of the pilot countries is already drafting a national law to regulate odour pollution, a big success associated to project actions. In Spain, a working group is drafting a standard for using citizen science to monitor odour pollution. Moreover, D-NOSES is also undertaking research on the effect of frequent exposure to odours and the related chemicals to health. These initiatives contribute to target 3.d from SGD 3 strengthening the capacity of all countries for early warning, risk reduction and management of national and global health risks.

The International Odour Observatory: A co-designed resource by and for the quadruple helix stakeholders

The team from MfC, Louise Francis, Hannah Stockwell and María Alonso-Roldán presented their work done in creating and maintaining the International Odour Observatory as a resource to promote innovative solutions to persistent environmental odour issues around the world.odour

Workshop on Inclusivity

During the conference, the D-NOSES team, including Simone Rufenacht (ECSA), Nora Salas Seoane (Ibercivis) and Lucia Paz Errandonea (IfC) held a special workshop on Highly Inclusive Engagement in Citizen Science, under the provocative headline “You have the buzzwords, but do you have the people?”. The workshop highlighted how the D-NOSES methodology ensures inclusivity in its activities by design, and then went on to illustrate each phase and its challenges using the experiences from the pilot case study in the Forum Area in Barcelona. Experiences and interesting approaches taken in the other pilots from the D-NOSES project were then shared to demonstrate the range of approaches and creative thinking that is sometimes necessary to truly be as inclusive as you hope to be.

If you missed it, the workshop video is available on the D-NOSES Youtube channel here.