Recent attention to the role of Indigenous knowledge (IK) in environmental monitoring, research and decision‐making is likely to attract new people to this field of work. Advancing the bringing together of IK and science in a way that is desirable to IK holders can lead to successful and inclusive research and decision‐making. We used the Delphi technique with 18 expert participants who were IK holders or working closely with IK from across the Arctic to examine the drivers of progress and limitations to the use of IK along with science to inform decision‐making related to wildlife, reindeer herding and the environment. We also used this technique to identify participants' experiences of scientists' misconceptions concerning IK. Participants had a strong focus on transformative change relating to the structure of institutions, politics, rights, involvement, power and agency over technical issues advancing or limiting progress (e.g. new technologies and language barriers). Participants identified two modes of desirable research: coproducing knowledge with scientists and autonomous Indigenous‐led research. They highlighted the need for more collaborative and coproduction projects to allow further refinement of approaches and more funding to support autonomous, Indigenous‐led research. Most misconceptions held by scientists concerning IK that were identified by participants related to the spatial, temporal and conceptual scope of IK, and the perceived need to validate IK using Western science. Our research highlights some of the issues that need to be addressed by all participants in research and decision‐making involving IK and science. While exact approaches will need to be tailored to specific social‐ecological contexts, consideration of these broader concerns revealed by our analysis are likely to be central to effective partnerships. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Crowdsourced data can provide spatially explicit data on the contribution of nature to people. Spatial information is essential for effectively managing the diverse relationships that people have with nature, but the potential and limits of using crowdsourcing data to generate maps for conservation purposes need further research. Passive crowdsourcing tools include social media platforms where photos and user‐generated tags are shared among users, whereas active crowdsourcing, such as public participatory geographic information system (PPGIS), provides an online platform for mapping place attributes such as values, experiences and preferences. In this study, we assess the spatial information gained through using Flickr (a photo sharing platform) and PPGIS (an online mapping platform) platforms for conservation planning to understand differences and similarities on the spatial distribution of values captured by the two platforms, and to identify what environmental and infrastructure variables correlate best with the distribution of values. We test these tools in Southern Norway including protected areas and the surrounding zones. We analysed non‐spatial (using chi‐square and Spearman rank correlation) and spatial (using clustering, Maxent and distribution overlap) data to identify differences between the two datasets and the values represented therein. We found large differences in spatial distribution using these two datasets, with Flickr data concentrated outside the protected areas and near roads, whereas PPGIS provided more fine‐scale data on diverse values in locations inaccessible by roads within the protected areas. Flickr can be used for generating regional scale data of scenic landscapes or routes, but PPGIS performs better for management of nature qualities appreciated by different user groups within protected areas. We discuss the pros and cons of using each data source and when each dataset is more suitable to be used in protected area management. A freePlain Language Summarycan be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Increased visitation to protected areas could have adverse impacts on the conservation values in the protected areas, and therefore effective visitor monitoring methods are needed to meet the complex management challenges that arise. Collecting data on human impacts is highly time consuming, thus requiring more effective tools that allow for high‐quality and long‐term measurements. In this study, we show how unmanned aerial vehicles (i.e. UAV or drones) could be used to monitor tourism impacts in protected areas. Tourism has boomed in national parks in Norway in recent years, such as in Jotunheimen National Park for which this study applies. We test the use of drones on a site where new tourist facilities will be established to set a baseline to identify future changes. We demonstrate how drones could help protected area management by monitoring visitor use patterns and commonly associated impacts such as trail condition (width and depth), vegetation structure and disturbances, informal trail proliferation, trampling, and trash and other impacts along the trails. We assessed accuracy and reliability compared with intensive field measurements of impacts and found low‐cost drones to be effective in mapping the study area with a resolution of 0.5 cm/pixel: drone derived trail measurements were comparable to traditional measurements with a negligible divergence on trail width measurements and a consistent 1.05 cm divergence on trail depth measurements that can be corrected with a few validation points. In addition, we created a high‐resolution vegetation classification map that could be used as a baseline for monitoring impacts. We conclude that drones can effectively contribute to visitor monitoring by reducing time spent in the field and by providing high‐resolution time series that could be used as baseline to measure tourism impacts on conservation values in protected areas.

Accepted manuscript version. Published version at http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2015.09.006. License in accordance with the journal's policy - CC-BY-NC-ND.Protected areas provide important ecosystem services globally but few studies have examined how cultural differences influence the distribution of cultural ecosystem values and management preferences. We used internet-based public participation GIS (PPGIS) in the countries of Norway and Poland to identify ecosystem values and management preferences in protected areas held by regional residents and site users. We found significant differences in the type and quantity of ecosystem values with Norwegians mapping more values relating to use of resources (e.g., hunting/fishing, gathering) and Polish respondents mapping more environmental values such as scenery, biological diversity, and water quality. With respect to management preferences, Norwegians identified more preferences for resource utilization while Polish respondents identified more preferences for conservation. Norwegian respondents were more satisfied with protected area management and local participation which can be explained by historical, legal, and cultural differences between the two countries. For Norway, biodiversity conservation in protected areas will continue to be guided by sustainable use of protected areas, rather than strict nature protection, with management favoring local board control and active public participation. For Poland, change in protected area management to enhance biodiversity conservation is less certain, driven by national environmental values that conflict with local values and preferences, continuing distrust in government, and low levels of civic participation. Differential efficacy in PPGIS methods – Norway with greater participation from household sampling and Poland with greater response using social media – suggest different strategies will be required for effective public engagement in protected area planning and management

The integration of creative arts–based methods into scientific research offers a host of advantages, including the ability to capture the complex texture of lived experience, explore interconnections between nature and culture, support nonhierarchical relations, and communicate insights in engaging and empowering new ways. In this article, we describe a new method—CreativeVoice—integrating the creative arts and qualitative research, which we developed and applied in a context of pursuing community-based conservation of agricultural biodiversity. We developed CreativeVoice as an integrative method to help us understand the local contexts, cultures, and perspectives from community members of different ages and genders, in two contrasting farming communities in Oaxaca, Mexico. CreativeVoice effectively adapts and extends the Photovoice method so as to retain its benefits but address some of its limitations. This includes allowing participants to choose a genre of artistic expression connected to their own specific individual or cultural contexts and providing the capacity to move beyond capturing present-day realities to directly bring in connections to the past and visions for the future. This article describes both the CreativeVoice approach and the significant value of integrating arts-based methods into research for advancing sustainability.