Identifying, developing and embedding citizen science techniques in action research to evaluate locally led solutions for water quality monitoring

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Our NERC PATHWAYs project (NE/R003645/1) is part of a 3-year collaboration between the Department of Sciences and Technology (India) and the Natural Environmental Research Council (UK). The aim is to develop mathematical modelling to describe how pollution moves within a range of water environments (i.e. river, coastal, wetland) to inform appropriate waste management strategies. Current systems used by India's water authorities are based on outdated tools that do not adequately account for the quantity and dynamic behaviour of contaminants within these flow domains. This, coupled with increasing urbanisation is exerting immense pressure on city water utilities. As such, there is an urgency to acquire the necessary knowledge to better manage water quality with positive outcomes on water security for the Indian population and enhancement of the natural environment. For a sustainable solution the strategies proposed must centre on local perspectives - facilitating local community uptake of actions driven by research results, wherein their values and priorities are embedded. Ultimately, this will both educate and empower local communities to take ownership of their environment. This aligns directly with the Indian National Framework Bill which acknowledges that there is an urgency to acquire such knowledge to meet ecological objectives. As such, it is vital that our research ensures emphasis is placed on not only the role of academic and scientific research but the networks to support the interface between research results and policy uptake/application. India and the UK are priority countries for each other with a synergy between future water quality legislation and shared global sustainable development goals. As part of PATHWAYs we have developed strong in-country connections with several Indian stakeholders (Thane Pollution Control Board; Enviro-con Urban Hydro Environment Centre; Versova Beach Clean Up - Afroz Shah). More recently our community connections have expanded to include NGO Earth5R - one of the largest citizen-led environmental movements, founded by Saurabh Gupta. Earth5R is based in and works with a number of local communities living in the same region as our PATHWAYs river catchment; providing an existing channel for community participation. Earth5R has expressed a need to acquire scientific knowledge to develop the community's ability to use scientific approaches to generate the evidence base required to support change in water quality management. Thames 21 are an environmental NGO operating in London, delivering environmental pollution management with communities and municipal stakeholders. This organisation is committed to supporting multidisciplinary approaches to catchment management and has expertise in community engagement and recruitment, nature-based pollution solutions and innovation knowledge transfer. We will work closely with Thames21 to help us guide the development of citizen science approaches that can be integrated into Earth5R's Mumbai based communities. The ultimate aim is to use citizen science to build capability into our India based communities that will simultaneously inform our PATHWAYs research as to the sources of pollution from a local perspective, thus target solutions, whilst simultaneously supporting the ongoing work led by Thames 21 and Earth5R.These approaches include: -Outfall safari's using community groups to identify pollution outfalls and score them based on their visible impact on the river environment. -Innovative technology (i.e., INTCATCH boats; autonomous boats fitted with state-of-the-art water quality monitoring technologies) to engage communities in water quality. -Story maps to synthesis scientific knowledge and community perspectives into an easily understandable framework. -Visual science: using florescent harmless tracers to trace pollution in natural flows within managed river catchments to test community hypotheses on drainage connections.