Marine I. Severin|Lazare Kouame Akpetou|Pavanee Annasawmy|Francis E. Asuquo|Fiona Beckman|Mostapha Benomar|Annette Jaya-Ram|Mohammed Malouli|Jan Mees|I. Monteiro|Joey Ndwiga|Péricles Neves Silva|Olubunmi Ayoola Nubi|Yee Kwang Sim|Zacharie Sohou|Aileen Tan Shau?Hwai|Sau Pinn Woo|Soukaina Zizah|Ann Buysse|Filip Raes|Lilian Anne Krug|Sophie Seeyave|Gert Everaert|Edem Mahu|Ana I. Catarino
Impact of the citizen science project COLLECT on ocean literacy and well-being within a north/west African and south-east Asian context
KU Leuven|Flanders Marine Institute|Ghent University|Université Félix Houphouët-Boigny|Université de Bretagne Occidentale|University of Calabar|Institut National de Recherche Halieutique|Universiti Sains Malaysia|Institut National de Recherche Halieutique|Flanders Marine Institute|Ghent University|Flanders Marine Institute|Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research|Universiti Sains Malaysia|Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin|Universiti Sains Malaysia|Universiti Sains Malaysia|Institut National de Recherche Halieutique|Ghent University|KU Leuven|University of Algarve|Flanders Marine Institute|University of Ghana|Flanders Marine Institute
plastic pollution societal environmental problem citizen science shown useful tool engage public professionals addressing however knowledge educational behavioral impacts citizen science projects focusing marine litter remains limited preregistered study investigates impact citizen science project citizen observation local litter coastal ecosystems collect participants ocean literacy proenvironmental intentions attitudes wellbeing nature connectedness using pretestposttest design total 410 secondary school students seven countries africa benin cabo verde cte divoire ghana morocco nigeria asia malaysia trained sample plastics sandy beaches analyze collection classroom nonparametric statistical tests n 239 matched participants demonstrate collect project positively impacted ocean literacy ie awareness knowledge marine litter selfreported litterreducing behaviors attitudes towards beach litter removal collect project also led higher proenvironmental behavioral intentions students benin ghana implying positive spillover effect higher wellbeing nature connectedness students benin results interpreted consideration high baseline awareness attitudes towards marine litter low internal consistency proenvironmental attitudes cultural context participating countries unique settings projects implementation study highlights benefits challenges understanding citizen science impacts perceptions behaviors towards marine litter youth respective regions