Scoping study explores a global nature-related public data facility

A high-level scoping study undertaken by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and 11 partner organizations (including GBIF) has concluded that high-quality nature-related data is a global public good with increasing demand from a wide array of public, private and civil society stakeholders everywhere.

Interest in global-scale solutions to nature-related data needs has accelerated since countries reached agreement on the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the COP-15 meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal last December. The availability of accurate, comparable and policy-relevant nature-related data is an essential prerequisite to help organizations become more resilient in the face of nature-related risks and to facilitate the flow of capital to nature positive outcomes.

In response, TNFD convened 11 international organizations to evaluate the case for a global nature-related public data facility, with an initial focus on the need to improve the availability, quality and comparability of state of nature data. The study's findings were released on 10 August 2023 on the margins of the Amazon Summit in Belem, Brazil, with GBIF executive secretary Joe Miller in attendance.

“Government, business, finance and civil society can’t take effective action on nature and climate challenges without high-quality, comparable and easily accessible data,” said Tony Goldner, executive director of TNFD. "A lot of progress has been made since the Paris Agreement to upgrade the quality and accessibility of climate-related data. We now need a step-change in focus and funding to enhance a global baseline of nature-related data. Building on the capabilities and work of many national and international scientific bodies and organizations over many decades, we believe there is a strong case for connecting, scaling and maintaining nature-related data through a global public data facility.”

A nature data landscape analysis undertaken by the TNFD in March 2022 concluded that a significant amount of nature-related metrics and data already exist and are in use today, but critical challenges remain around:

• standardization of methods and definitions
• the maintenance and connectivity of nature-related datasets
• improved accessibility for a growing community of data users
• comparability to assist policymaking, business strategy and capital allocation decisions by financial markets

The TNFD landscape review also found that new nature-related data technologies and solutions are emerging quickly, from satellite data to eDNA, many led by new collaborations between scientific institutions and market data providers. These new advances present exciting new possibilities for improving and scaling state of nature assessment data and underscore that private-sector actors will increasingly be important providers of nature-related data not just users.

A key finding of the scoping study is that rapid growth in demand for nature-related data could support scaling-up of a global nature-related public data facility, providing significant benefits for public, private and civil society stakeholders around the world. Wherever possible, the partners recommend that baseline nature-related data remain open and accessible to a broad range of stakeholders, rather than being kept kept behind paywalls or in proprietary systems.

“As a standards-driven network responsible for the most comprehensive and widely used source of free, open and interoperable data on biodiversity, we second TNFD study's call for greater ambition and investment in nature-related data as a global public good," said Miller. "More than two decades after its establishment through the OECD, GBIF can provide the proposed utility with a valuable model and lessons learned regarding its design, governance and capacity building practices.”

The study explored three possible options for better scaling, connecting and funding nature-related data improvements and has recommended a global nature-related public data facility that connects and expands existing data platforms at a national and sub-national level. This facility must also incorporate the growing number of nature-related data sources from the private sector into a shared and open platform.

“Underpinned by the right scope, governance, financing and incentive structures, and enabled by globally consistent methods and standards for nature-related data, a global nature-related public data facility would be a game-changer for better risk management and enabling new nature markets to emerge,” said Simon Zadek, chair of Nature Finance.

The organizations behind the scoping study are now beginning the next phase of exploratory work, involving consultations with a wide range of stakeholders with a view to blueprinting a preferred governance, funding and operating model for the proposed public data facility and ensuring synergies with related climate data initiatives such as the Net Zero Public Data Utility (NZDPU) and others.

https://tnfd.global/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/23-24755-Global-Data-Facility-Paper_V14.pdf

Contributing partners

• Taskforce of Nature-related Financial Disclosures (coordinator)
• Nature Finance (research and project management)
• Systemiq (research and project management)
• Global Commons Alliance Accountability Accelerator (GCAA)
• Capitals Coalition
• CDP
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
• GBIF
• Open Earth Foundation
• MRV Collective
• Science Based Targets Network (SBTN)
• UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) (a GBIF associate participant)