Biodiversity early warning systems: South African citizen scientists monitoring change

This booklet is the result of a collaboration between the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), the Animal Demography Unit (ADU) of the University of Cape Town and the South African Department of Environmental Affairs. The status of plant and animal populations are an indicator of environmental health. Monitoring changes in populations is a valuable tool to guide environmental management decisions, and the contribution of "citizen scientists" to animal and plant atlassing and recording projects is an invaluable resource for scientists to provide information for decision makers. This booklet is a celebration of the achievements of our citizen scientists.