NaturalistaUY in Uruguay: a case of community science in Latin America from a critical perspective

Abstract

In recent decades, citizen science platforms have been developed worldwide. However, many of these initiatives focus on data collection in ways that are often disconnected from local realities. Historically, Latin America has adopted a distinct perspective. Given the growing popularity of iNaturalist in the region and the launch of NaturalistaUY in Uruguay, we ask: Can this platform be used to foster learning and generate knowledge that addresses the realities and needs of local communities? This paper presents a pioneering experience in Uruguay, aiming to situate data collection and knowledge generation in a socio-political context. Overall, we observed that iNaturalist attracts great interest due to its free, participatory, and community-driven approach. Although the platform’s pre-established structure can be limiting in some respects, its community-oriented design enables collective engagement and appropriation.

Florencia Grattarola

Postdoc Researcher

Uruguayan biologist doing research in macroecology and biodiversity informatics.