SUPERVISOR: Harald VACIK

PROJECT ASSIGNED TO: The Trung HOANG

Forest fires are one of the most damaging events to human health and activities as well as negative impacts on the environment globally. It likely increases both in frequency and intensity due to the impact of climate change.

In order to effectively prevent and suppress forest fire, it is important to collect reliable, timely and comprehensive data on forest fuels. In recent years, data from citizen sciences has shown efficacy in many areas. Together with the rapid and modern development of information technology, data provided by citizen sciences is an important part of scientific research. It also has potential for application in collecting data related to forest fires. However, there is a gap in evaluating the process and outcomes of citizen sciences projects in forest fire management. This lack of information leads to major risks and challenges for public participation in fire research activities in the future.

The main goal of the PhD project is to evaluate the suitability of applying a mobile phone application inspired by citizen science approaches as a tool for measuring forest fuel data for forest fire risk management. The PhD project will provide an overview and guidance to researchers on evaluating a citizen sciences project through a case study in Hue province, a fire-prone region in Vietnam. It also identifies necessity and sufficiency criteria to guide and inspire further development for citizen sciences in the context of forest fire management. Furthermore, this study will potentially serve as more efficient alternatives to raise awareness and improve fire prevention and fighting efforts from the general public to support fire management strategies.

Figure 1: A forest fire has destroyed Acacia forest and forced the evacuation of nearly twenty homes in Hue province on 28.06.2019. Source: https://nhadautu.vn/thua-thien--hue-chay-rung-du-doi-uy-hiep-duong-day-500kv-d24667.html 

Figure 2: Example values of citizen science. Source: V.J. MacPhail and S.R. Colla, 2020.