372 Monitoring Threatened Species and Ecological Communities
encourages better commitment and can led to community advocacy in support of
ongoing monitoring. Events such as training and program updates are important
for maintaining consistency in data collection and communicating results, but are
also valuable in cultivating social connections with other volunteers, which again
facilitates greater commitment.
Monitoring programs involving community participation can be hugely
rewarding in terms of increased awareness by the public of conservation issues,
and constructive engagement with, and empowerment of, community groups.
Community participation can also lead to improved knowledge and management
of threatened species and program advocacy. The chapters presented in this section
provide valuable advice in developing monitoring programs that effectively engage
communities to help contribute to improved conservation outcomes of
threatened species.