Special issue  

Scientific research around water security in the Peruvian Andes rarely includes local perspectives or approaches which directly engage with local communities. Here we explore some key lessons learnt through a research project which collected perspectives on water quality issues in Peru via an app. Our research discusses the importance and challenges of engaging local participants, use of technology for data collection, and the need for integrating local perspectives with scientific observations.

To reverse the decline in global biodiversity and meet the targets set by the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, we will need to make substantial changes across all sectors. This includes academia and the way in which research is conducted and communicated. In this article, we outline how the scientific community can embrace transdisciplinarity and connectivity, and support the integration of scientific evidence into the policymaking process.