Citizen Science: Innovative Tools for National Park Management

The low management efficiency and insufficient public participation in global protected areas have significantly hindered the progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This paper explores the role of citizen science as an innovative solution in enhancing public participation in the conservation and management of China's national parks. Through a systematic review of relevant literature, it sorts out the origin and development, model and components, as well as values and benefits of citizen science. This paper constructs a citizen science participation framework for China's national parks, which centers on the interactive network of government agencies, research institutions, and the public, and involves five dimensions: participating subjects, participating platforms, participating modes, participating mechanisms, and participating guarantees. The study emphasizes the importance of collaborative participation in promoting the conservation, sustainable utilization, and adaptive management of natural resources in China's national parks. The research findings provide important theoretical references for scheme innovation in the fields of natural resource conservation, utilization, and collaborative management of China's national parks.