Discussion paper:

The Case for a

Digital Ecosystem
for the
Environment:
Bringing together data, algorithms and
insights for sustainable development

Bandura 2018
 4
PART 1: High Level Summary, Conclusions and Recommendation

1. Background and Objectives 5

2. Why we need a digital ecosystem for the environment 5
3. Creating a digital ecosystem for the environment partnership 7
A) Financing and development 7
B) Governing principles 8
C) Components and vision 9
4. Driving action 10
5. Future research and opportunities 10
6. Recommendations 11

12
PART 2: The Case for a Digital Ecosystem for the Environment

1. Background 13
2. A digital ecosystem for the environment 14
A) Now is the time for action 14
B) What’s at stake? 15
C) Objectives 15
3. Components of a digital ecosystem for the environment 16
A) Data 17
B) Infrastructure 18
C) Algorithms and analytics 19
D) Insights and applications 20
4. Potential benefits, risks and governance challenges 20
A) What are the potential benefits? 20
B) What are the potential risks? 21
C) What are the governance challenges? 23
5. Entry Points and Opportunities for Engagement 24
A) Capacity 24
B) Institutions, laws, policies and norms 24
C) Markets and finance 25
D) Business models 26
6. Conclusions 27

30
Annex I: Stakeholders consulted
Annex II: Platforms hosting environmental data, algorithms and insights reviewed 32
References 35

2
 ABSRTACT

The planet is not currently on a sustainable path. In order to change

the current trajectory requires transparency, inclusion and
accountability. A shift in the global political economy of environmental
data is needed to harness the efforts of public and private sectors to
jointly generate high quality data and insights as a global public good
while avoiding technology and data monopolies. The global economy is
changing and we will not be able to achieve the environmental SDGs
or environmental sustainability without utilizing frontier technologies
and integrated data. Social media networks are shaping consumer
preferences and political outcomes across the globe. There is still an
opportunity to change the current trajectory if we use data and
information: to build awareness of the state of our planet, to influence
consumer behaviour, to inform markets and to reform governance
systems.

A global digital ecosystem for the environment has the potential to put
us on a path toward a sustainable future. This will require action from
citizens, governments, the private sector and intergovernmental
organisations to collect and share data, process data and create
analytical insights and information. Citizens must be engaged in using
and collecting data. Countries must create a culture of data use,
innovation and data governance for national data ecosystems. A
private sector contribution related the sharing of data, algorithms and
expertise is key. The UN can play a role to incubate and develop a
global digital ecosystem which is built upon innovative partnerships
across stakeholders. As the global entity responsible for the
environment, UN Environment is responsible for leadership in
developing an approach to govern the digital ecosystem for the
environment as part of a broader sustainable development ecosystem
and to bring existing environment related data into focus for policy
making. This will be done through envisioning the role of different
stakeholders in a digital ecosystem and through making data and
information more accessible including through the Environment
Situation Room and the MapX spatial data platform of UN
Environment.
PART 1:
High Level Summary,
Conclusions and
Recommendation

4
 1. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Assembly, additional feedback from policy makers and
stakeholders will be sought. On this basis, the UN Science
This discussion paper outlines the status quo of the most
Policy Business Forum will then act as the primary incubator
salient challenges related to the collection, management
for the practical implementation strategy to gradually
and use of environmental data, algorithms and insights
translate this vision into a reality. The Forum will create
according to a comprehensive group of international
numerous opportunities to collect stakeholder feedback on
stakeholders convened by UN Environment and the UN
the emerging strategy. To provide your views on the vision
Science Policy Business Forum (see Annex I). The paper
outlined in this paper and learn more about how you can
translates a summary of various priorities and inputs into a
contribute to its implementation, please contact the
consolidated vision statement and set of opportunities, risks
Secretariat of the UN Science Policy Business Forum.
and governance challenges. It calls for the establishment of
a digital ecosystem for the environment as a global public
good, governed through an international process backed by
2. WHY WE NEED A DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM FOR THE
the UN as a key tool to monitor the health of our planet and
ENVIRONMENT
the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Data have tremendous potential to be used as powerful
This paper has been developed through a consultative
resources for good. However, this will only happen if
process led by UN Environment through the UN Science-
governments, the private sector, academics, citizens and
Policy-Business Forum.1 It is based on more than a year of
other stakeholders work together to match policy needs,
consultations with public and private stakeholders from all
data streams, technological solutions and technical
sectors (see Annex I) together with a thorough review of
expertise. It is time for stakeholders in all domains to unite
various environmental data platforms and proposals (Annex
in building an open digital ecosystem of data, algorithms and
II). The objective of the consultation was to initiate work
insights in order to provide actionable evidence on the state
towards identifying the underlying conditions necessary to
of the environment and interactions between the economy,
establish a collective vision for a global digital ecosystem of
society and the environment. Actionable evidence must be
environmental data, algorithms and insights that can
easily understood by decision-makers, investors, consumers
provide actionable information for achieving the
and citizens alike to maximise participation, accountability
environmental dimensions of sustainable development. This
and market pressure. While many digital initiatives are
paper reflects the views expressed by the diverse mix of
proliferating around the environment and the sustainable
stakeholders who engaged in the process and should be
use of natural resources, their coordination, proposed
treated as a work in progress.
interventions and calls for action could be improved, better
The paper does not serve as a road map for implementation targeted and more directly linked to the Sustainable
of this vision but instead provides a catalogue of key Development Goals (SDGs).
principles and proposed foundational elements including the
A digital ecosystem can be defined as ‘a complex distributed
data, infrastructure, the content and the application of any
network or interconnected socio-technological system’ with
future platform or system of platforms and possible paths
adaptive properties of self-organization and scalability. In
towards financing this vision. The primary intent of the
this sense a digital ecosystem much like natural ecosystems
paper is to define the required level of ambition for a future
are characterized by competition and collaboration among
digital ecosystem for the environment, uncompromised by
its many diverse components. It is the interactions and
practical constraints, but fully cognizant that the
linkages between these seemingly individual or autonomous
implementation of this vision will be gradual. In this way, the
entities that make an ecosystem functional. A digital
paper serves as a basis to rally stakeholders from the public
ecosystem for the environment must connect individual
and private sector, as well as individual global citizens, who
data sets with algorithms and analysis in order to create
share the same vision, objectives and values and invites
insights. Additionally, a digital ecosystem will require a well-
them to become the architects of the proposed digital
designed infrastructure to facilitate data exchange,
ecosystem for the environment.
processing and visualization. This ecosystem must also
Following the launch of the paper at the UN Environmental leverage open data exchange between the public and

1) This paper was co-authored by David Jensen (Head of Environmental Peacebuilding Programme and Co-director of the MapX platform for spatial
environmental data) and Jillian Campbell (Chief Statistician) of UN Environment. Additional inputs from UN Environment were provided by Shereen Zorba, Alex
Caldas, Pascal Peduzzi, Saiful Ridwan, Ben Simmons, Andrew Morton, Inga Petersen, Jason Jabbour, Barbara Hendrie, Shereen Zor ba, and Rachel Kosse. It was
mandated by the working group on Data, Analytics and AI of the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum, by the UN Environment Chief Scientist, Mr. Jian Liu and by
the Director of the Division Policy and Planning, Mr. Gary Lewis. The paper reflects the inputs and feedback provided by the stakeholder consultation process
listed in Annex I.

5
private sector, it must offer protections for data privacy and directly to the SDGs. In many cases, they are using
security, and it must include safeguards for data quality. technologies to promote and accelerate unsustainable
consumption and production practices.
As natural resources and ecosystem services are under
growing pressure from environmental degradation, A common vision toward building and governing an open
population growth and climate change, there is an increasing digital ecosystem of environmental data, analytical
potential for global and local economic and social instability. algorithms and policy insights is vital to guarantee the
These threats also directly impact people as they create sustainable use of natural resources and targeted actions to
challenges in terms of declining food and water security, ensure the future of our planet. Such an ecosystem must
increasing threats to human health from air, water and soil have a clear value-added business case and must provide
pollution and pronounced inequality in terms of access to transparent, open access to aggregated data while ensuring
natural resources. When these environmental challenges are the protection of privacy and confidentiality. The ecosystem
coupled with the anticipated changes in labour market must be interoperable with social and economic data that
demand that are likely to result from growth in artificial would require factoring in norms, standards, frequencies and
intelligence, robotic automation and other technologies, the territory definitions that are already used in those sectors.
human population is facing unprecedented challenges. These Additionally, methodologies, algorithms and quality
challenges can and will create localised conflict, assurance information should be part of the ecosystem.
environmental migration and other environmental security Creating new real-time and time series data products,
risks. On the other hand, by using new technologies to better statistics and indicators is not enough. This information must
understand challenges and threats to create targeted be transformed into actionable insights that can be easily
interventions and actions, there is a path to a more digested by decision-makers, investors, consumers and
sustainable, inclusive and peaceful future. Additionally, there citizens. An effective digital ecosystem would not be
are opportunities to create green products and interventions stagnant, but would regularly seek input users and
that have economic value in addition to value in improving proactively "scouting" new relevant technologies and use
resilience and reducing vulnerability. cases.

Frontier technology is being increasingly used to generate A digital ecosystem for the environment would offer an
data, process them for transformation into information, improved ability to make informed decisions and evaluate
ready to conduct analysis and dissemination. For example, policy interventions based on trustworthy information about
satellite data is being integrated with other sources of data to the state of the environment and interactions between the
map ecosystem extent; the Global Biodiversity Information economy, society and the environment. For example, real
Facility provides free and open access to more than 1 billion time air quality warnings allow citizens to make decisions on
individual records, mostly from citizen scientists on where whether to wear an air filtration mask and use public
and when species have been observed or collected; and there transport or data on the cause of waterbody decline might
are many efforts to pull data together from different sources allow a country to adjust their agricultural policy or better
(more examples are included in Annex II). However, there are engage in transboundary basin discussions. But how to build,
still many gaps in terms of creating global time series data finance and maintain such a global public good and how to
which can be used to measure the planet’s most pressing harness it as an accountability mechanism for achieving the
issues (roughly 30% of the environmental SDG indicators still SDGs opens up a challenging set of questions.
do not have an agreed methodology) (United Nations [UN]
The United Nations can provide global leadership to build a
2018a).
partnership and operationalise an ecosystem of
Countries and companies are increasingly interested in environmental data, algorithms and insights. At the same
mapping natural resources together with social and time, such an initiative needs to promote renewable energy
environmental trends, but often with competing objectives solutions across the data ecosystem, address e-waste
and uneven access to technology. On the one hand management and responsible supply chain sourcing, and
governments are responsible for working toward the establish governance processes, safeguards and value-based
achievement of the social, economic and environmental guidance for disruptive technologies such as big data,
objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but blockchain and artificial intelligence. This ecosystem will be
often lack access to data, technological capacity and human co-built with states and non-states actors to address the
resources for analysing the interactions and trade-offs needs and create consensus, trust and legitimacy. Such a
between the different aspects of sustainable development. global partnership could be initiated with interested member
On the other hand, companies often possess technological states and partners (early adopters) which can be expanded
and human capacity, but lack incentives for contributing over time. The UN and partners can now work toward a

6
vision and governance framework for such an ecosystem algorithms are complex and involve numerous stakeholders.
that offers the right mix of incentives, standards and A partnership would also rely on governments, private
financial models to support innovation, profit making and sector actors, academic institutions and other stakeholders
generation of global public goods. A future that leverages to contribute toward the development of a data ecosystem
the 4th industrial revolution for the environment is ours to as a global public good. A global partnership would be a first
imagine and create. step toward forging a common path forward that respects
the ideals of the UN charter and the SDGs: a vision that
unites people, planet, prosperity and peace.
3. CREATING A DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMFOR THE
Developing the data ecosystem calls for innovative financing
ENVIRONMENT PARTNERSHIP
which requires developing business models and strategies to
A) Financing and development address a few fundamental questions: how to finance the
Humanity now has the potential to leverage a range of new costs of maintaining a global public good, including data
data sources and technical innovations that could help acquisition, processing, storage and analysis; who should
monitor the planet at the global, national and local levels. have access to what level of data for what purpose; how can
There have been gains in leveraging new data and cloud computing costs be offset or subsidised to lessen the
technology for the environment, for example through using digital divide between countries and how can the
mobile applications for citizen science, multipurpose infrastructure be globally distributed? The technology and
environmental sensors collecting real-time data within the data science sector add tremendous value to the global
internet of things (IoT), or artificial intelligence algorithms to economy which have the potential to increase government
analyse earth observation data and detect patterns of revenue for the environment and for improved
change. However, currently the investment in technologies environmental monitoring.
and data collection has been dominated by private sector The data within the ecosystem will include a range of private
investments and short term financial incentives which often and public sector data. Governments, intergovernmental
tend to promote consumerism and increased consumption organisations, academic institutions and non-governmental
rather than sustainability. Currently, a small number of organisations play a large role in stimulating data collection
companies and countries control most of the digital and data sharing; however, data is often not open and is not
infrastructure needed to gather and use global-scale data, coupled with the technological expertise or processing
together with the expertise and capacity to deploy artificial power needed to generate trusted insights at any scale.
intelligence for consumer preference monitoring, market
To address the issue of data sharing, there is a need to
trend detection, prediction and business intelligence. If this
identify opportunities to ensure that public funds which
trend continues, it could further amplify information
finance private data collection have conditions on data
asymmetries between countries and between the private
release and disclosure in the appropriate format.
and public sectors which could potentially undermine the
Commercially sensitive data can either be held back,
sustainable use and fair contracting of natural resources.
anonymised, or aggregated but we must make data sharing
This potential scenario calls for action to guarantee data
a new norm in the social licence of business to operate. The
innovation as a global public good together with
formation of a digital ecosystem of data, algorithms and
investments in capacity building to prevent the digital divide
insights would also serve as a mechanism for identifying
from escalating.
gaps in understanding which natural resource data sets are
Humanity has entered a new world in which knowledge and needed and gaps in publicly funded data collection.
data are increasingly digital, personalized, networked,
Data access and sharing are still the most important barriers
algorithmic and becoming privatized. In such a world, old
in terms of building an international public data ecosystem.
models of the science-policy interface that can drive
Data sharing is more of a challenge than the application of
sustainability are no longer fit for purpose. A people-centred
technologies needed for processing and extracting insights
and publicly-powered engine for enabling the world to more
(e.g. the technologies exist at low cost but need the data).
collectively share, learn, and act towards the environmental
Even within public institutions and academia, many data sets
dimensions of the SDGs is needed.
are not actively released or come with non-commercial use
The United Nations can act as a convener and trustworthy restrictions. Open source software is a viable, secure and
global institution to form a partnership toward developing a low-cost solution that can be adopted by all stakeholders to
common vision and financing options for an open ecosystem access data and monitor changes in natural resources and
of environmental data, algorithms and information. The the environment. Open source solutions allow data to flow
operational and governance challenges for data and
7
freely among ecosystems and promote inter-operability. resources and global environmental data.
However, data integration and the implementation of open
source solutions still have financing needs. Using data for Table 1: Geographic Concentration of Technology
societally-robust results is best achieved through Companies
collaboration which utilizes open source software, where COMPANY COUNTRY VALUE ($B)
efforts and costs of software development and maintenance
can be shared between private and public partners. In order Apple US 915
to achieve this financing method, agreed-upon principles Amazon US 828
must be established to guide the common package of open
Alphabet US 781
source software.
Microsoft US 771
B) Governing principles
Facebook US 556
Open data, open algorithms, transparency and safeguarding
of privacy must be at the core of an ecosystem for data, Alibaba China 484
algorithms and insights. An ecosystem for data, algorithms Tencent China 477
and insights does not live in a single cloud – but as a
Netflix US 173
network where data, data processing techniques, metadata
and experiences can be shared, tracked and replicated by an Ant Financial China 150
open community. Ensuring transparency and using only Salesforce US 102
trusted data sources will be increasingly important in a
Bookings Holdings US 100
world where social media posts, written narratives, images,
videos and in the future perhaps even consciousness can be Paypal US 100
created and altered. Baidu China 89
A successful global strategy should be forward looking to Uber US 72
bring in new data sources, promote new data collection, use
JD.com China 56
frontier technologies and be adaptive to future data and
technological developments. The ability to garner action Didi Chuxing China 56
relies on the ability to merge the information available with
Xiaomi China 54
the insights needed to create trusted and actionable
information which addresses both risks and negative trends eBay US 37
as well as opportunities and positive solutions. Solutions Airbnb US 31
must be targeted toward the most pressing problems and
Meituan-Dianping China 30
offer opportunities for scaling and global adoption.
The largest 20 tech giants are listed using market caps for
A global ecosystem for data, algorithms and insights must
all public companies (Desjardins 2018).
foster national engagement and buy-in for data to be used
for SDG implementation, policy development and evidence-
based behaviours. This requires building capacity of A new social contract between companies, governments and
governments, academics and citizens in using and guiding citizens is also required where mutual obligations and
data collection and analysis. A global ecosystem must be fit- responsibilities are spelled out. The cost of doing business
for-purpose and provide information to stakeholders who anywhere in the world should be the release of relevant non
are able to develop data-driven interventions, investments -commercial data into the global data ecosystem that can be
and actions. The global ecosystem would aim to reduce the used to measure SDG progress. While protection of
current concentration of data and technology in a limited commercially sensitive and strategic data is important – it is
number of countries (see Table 1) in order to promote now possible to extract a subset of this information that can
broader use of data and new technologies for development contribute to a global public good in terms of a digital
and for data democratisation.2 This may require a new ecosystem for the environment. Data provenance3 is an
approach to antitrust rules on data, especially over natural important investment to support the quality and

2) Data democratisation is a principle that suggests data should be available to everyone in a given organization or system, not just key specialists or leaders
(Techopedia 2019).
3) A record showing the origin of data including why and how the data is included (Gupta 2009).

8
 accountability of the data ecosystem. This includes data ethical protocol at the international level which countries
attribution4, licensing5, digital object identifiers (DOI)6, and companies adopt and monitor. Such a protocol might
decentralised identifiers (DIDs)7, token binding8, meta data9, follow a philosophy similar to the Hippocratic Oath that
etc. Recognising the origin of data, licensing to acknowledge doctors take upon entering practice. In its original form, it
intellectual property rights, metadata to provide information requires a new physician to swear to uphold specific ethical
about other data, and various means of identifying and standards and is used as a framework for self-enforcement.
securing the data are fundamental requirements of a digital Perhaps a similar Turing protocol could be developed on
ecosystem for the environment to ensure trust, quality and basic ethical principles underpinning the application of
accountability (Saboor 2013). While the collection of data frontier technologies backed by an AI tracking system to
can be benefit from improved sharing of information, data monitor compliance. This would also need to be coupled
processing and infrastructure at the national level will still with training and developing a culture of ethics among
require investment and would likely require public funding – coders and data scientists (as the ethical implications of
thus data sharing alone will not alleviate the need for decisions is not part of the core training for most engineers).
investing in national statistical systems.
C) Components and vision
A global ecosystem for data, algorithms and insights must
The ecosystem of data, algorithms and insights would aim to
keep in mind that there will remain a need for national level
bring together big data on environment, official statistics,
data governance strategies and some data will remain only
citizens science and other relevant data streams. The
at the national level. Each country will adopt approaches
ecosystem would also include information related to data
relative to their political culture, values and social context.
quality, data sources and collection methodologies. Ideally
However, at the global level – the implementation of a
the ecosystem would provide a basis for understanding
global ecosystem must reflect agreed principles of
global trends and for drilling down to the national and
international law and human rights. As governance
community levels. Strategies for data management and
processes and technology move at different speeds, one of
analysis are needed for each of these scales.
the core governance approaches will rely on core ethical
principles Data collection would include satellites, drones, mobile
FIGURE 1: PROPOSED DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT ECOSYSTEM FOR DATA, ALGORITHMS AND INSIGHTS

and social values. In this regard, the next generation of phones, sensors, citizen science, official statistics, in situ
coders, computer engineers and data scientists may need an data and other information. Due to the volume and

4) Recognising the origin of data (Saboor 2013).

5) Acknowledging intellectual property rights of data
6) A digital object identifier (DOI) is a unique alphanumeric string assigned by a registration agency (the International DOI Foundation) to identify content and
provide a persistent link to its location on the Internet. (APA Style 2019).
7) Decentralized Identifiers (DIDs) are a new type of identifier for verifiable, "self -sovereign" digital identity. DIDs are fully under the control of the DID
subject, independent from any centralized registry, identity provider, or certificate authority. (Contributors to the Decentralized Identifiers 2019).
8) Token Binding has been included in the FIDO specifications as an important security measure. Token Binding cryptographically ties a token to a host,
ensuring that the server knows that it is talking to the right browser. (FIDO Alliance 2018).
9) Metadata is information about the data collected (Knight 2017).

9
complexity of such data it would be impossible for all data to data ecosystem is one of the prerequisites to achieving this
be centrally hosted. Thus, an ecosystem does not mean that wider goal.
data are pulled into a central location, but that information
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
on accessing data is pulled together along with sharing
Change (UNFCCC) process has attempted to link necessary
algorithms and data processing power. This means bringing
environmental action to climate change modelling in order
data, algorithms and processing power together in various
to hold governments, companies and consumers
clouds and/or connecting clouds together in a manner
accountable (United Nations Framework Convention on
where data can flow among them. This would allow the
Climate Change [UNFCCC] 1992). The SDG targets provide a
integration of data from different sources and high data
broader look at the environmental dimension of
quality and frequency. For example, citizen science data
development which examine environmental drivers,
could be used to validate ecosystem extent data which are
pressures, impacts, state and responses. However, using the
based on satellite data, thus improving data quality or
SDGs as a binding accountability framework is impaired by
satellite data may be used to fill gaps between agricultural
the lack of high-quality, real time global and local level data
censuses which only occur every 10 years (Food and
on many of the aspects of the SDGs. This impairment is
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO] 2019).
exacerbated by very limited information on the interactions
For each type of data, quality assurance guidelines would between environment, social and economic SDG targets. A
need to be developed over time. For example, citizen recent report concluded that politicians have failed to grasp
science can provide data for use or for validating other data the severity of human impacts on the environment, which
through ground observations, creating knowledge and have reached a critical stage and threaten to destabilise
crowdsourcing. However, to build trust in this data, there society and the international economy. "A new, highly
must be agreed quality standards. On the other hand, for complex and destabilised 'domain of risk' is emerging - which
satellite data, data from in situ sensors and official statistics, includes the risk of the collapse of key social and economic
international standards already exist. systems" (Laybourn-Langton, Rankin and Baxter 2019, p. 5).

Artificial intelligence algorithms will need to detect key The international community needs to urgently close the
patterns and relationships, extract insights, make predictions gap between identifying global environmental problems and
and help determine priorities for action. The adoption of AI measuring the impact of proposed solutions and mitigation
for global environmental monitoring is already happening measures. It presently takes an average of four years to
and should be embraced provided safeguards are put in assess the level of compliance for each multilateral
place to address risks. AI and innovative applications of new environmental agreement - a period of time that is equal to
technology can and should provide motivation for improved the turnover of governments and their political leaders. We
sustainable development and therefore instigate action. need a real time and global picture of our progress towards
achieving the SDGs.

4. DRIVING ACTION
5. FUTURE RESEARCH AND OPPORTUNITIES
Analytical products and insights can be used to promote the
sustainable use of natural resources as well as nudge and In addition to using frontier technologies to map, measure
incentivise both consumer behaviour and markets towards and monitor our progress in advancing the SDGs, they are
the sustainability and the achievement of the SDGs. To part of the solution to achieve the individual SDG targets.
motivate progress towards the SDGs, analytical products Frontier technologies will be essential in terms of influencing
must be easy to access, easy to digest and clearly linked to and nudging consumer behaviour, tracking the
an environmental priority. Despite our best international environmental footprint of product supply chains, improving
efforts to build a global environmental governance system, efficiency in product design, assessing trade-offs and
the ecological integrity of our planet is at risk. Indeed, in predicting impacts between alternative forms of land use
2018 more than 15,000 scientists in 184 countries signed a and natural resource exploitation.
letter urging the world to address major environmental
However, we must recognise that technological change and
concerns. “Soon it will be too late to shift course away from
innovation occur at a speed and scale which is far beyond
our failing trajectory, and time is running out” (Ripple et al.
the capacity of many governments to both comprehend and
2017, p. 1028). Business as usual approaches to global
regulate. The pace of change and the emergence of both
environmental governance will not work. We need
positive and negative 'unknown unknowns' are by definition
environmental solutions that work at the same speed and
impossible to predict. The synergistic nature of technological
scale as the drivers of environmental degradation. A global
change and innovation coupled with the potential for
10
exponential adoption through network effects means they the UN Global Pulse projects on data science, Group on
cannot be effectively governed with traditional approaches Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), IOC-
that rely on political consensus and top down regulatory UNESCO’s Global Ocean Observing System, etc. (United
frameworks. These can take years to forge at the national Nations [UN] 2015; United Nations Global Pulse [Global
scale and decades at the global level in the multilateral Pulse] 2018; United Nations Environment Programme
system. In short, our political processes simply operate on a [UNEP] 2019; United Nations Statistics Division [UNSD]
different timeline from technology. Furthermore, the 2019).
governance challenges for each application of a particular
3) Using the science-policy-business interface to identify
blend of technologies are often extremely different. Many
the demand for actionable, policy relevant insights, and
concerns are context specific and often are not addressed
public good applications: convene countries, companies,
through broad and unfocused policy measures. Specific
academics, civil society and international actors to match
challenges relate to the flow of individual data sets between
the data available with technological capabilities for
technologies and digital ecosystems, and to the privacy and
generating insights in real time about the state of the
security measures established individually and when used in
environment at any scale. This will also help identify data
combination. New agile governance models, creative
gaps and democratise access to information for supporting
commons licensing and an increased emphasis on ethics and
government policies, academic research, financial
values are required to guide technical development.
investments, citizen action and sustainable consumption. In
particular, public good applications required to monitor key
environmental risks and opportunities should be identified
6. RECOMMENDATIONS
even when these applications do not generate stand-alone
Member States are invited to consider the findings and private sector investments. These would include monitoring
recommendations of this discussion paper to improve global environmental security risks, developing open source
national ecosystems of data, algorithms and insights and to software, promoting consumer awareness and nudging
request UN Environment to continue the SPB Forum towards sustainable consumption, and catalysing citizen
Working Group on Data, Analytics and AI. The next focus of science opportunities.
this working group should be developing an implementation
4) Developing a strategy for operationalising and financing
strategy to ensure that a digital ecosystem of data,
an ecosystem for data, algorithms and insights: a strategy
algorithms and insights is built for the environmental
should be developed with key stakeholders related to data
dimensions of sustainable development. Such a strategy
generation and collection, technological solutions and
would include:
algorithms, insight analysis and business models. This
1) Envisioning a digital ecosystem for the environment strategy should be geared toward operationalising a global
partnership by: considering the scope and structure of the ecosystem through a step-by-step approach which identifies
ecosystem; identifying where data, algorithms and insights short term wins and long term modalities for the ecosystem.
can be hosted depending on the type of information
5) Fostering engagement and rolling out the ecosystem:
contained; mapping linkages with other relevant digital
engagement with Governments, private sector partners,
ecosystems; providing a framework for quality assurance
academics and citizens underpins the success of a global
and transparency; establishing a mechanism for protecting
ecosystem. UN Environment could identify key partners that
individual privacy; continuously identifying data, and data
could stimulate national engagement, such as academia, UN
gaps; providing insight related to the most pressing and
Country teams and members of the Citizen Science
emerging environmental issues; matching the vision for the
Community, which would be both information users and
ecosystem together with a financing model; and avoiding
contributors (Citizen Science Association [CSA] 2019). UN
data and technology monopolies in the environmental
Environment would take into account the specific needs of
sector.
developing countries and to ensure that digital technical
2) Collaboration and integration of other global best solutions to environmental issues do not create additional
practices: many initiatives related to sharing data, including inequality, but promote technology transfer and build
geospatial data, or to stimulate the development of capacity for uptake.
analytical products already exist. UN Environment will work
across the UN System and with other partners to leverage
existing initiatives, for example the Environment Situation
Room powered by MapX, the UN Global Platform on Big
Data for Official Statistics, the UN Data Innovation Group,

11
PART 2:
The Case for a
Digital Ecosystem
for the Environment

12
 BACKGROUND

This white paper has been drafted by the working group of the UN
Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment10. It is based on
the outcomes of the first meeting of the Governing Consortium of the
Science-Policy-Forum held in New York in May 2018 and the meeting
of its Working Group on Data, Analytics and AI held in Paris in
October 2018. It also draws from lessons presented during the Earth
Innovation Forum held in Tallinn in September 2018 and the World
Data Forum and the Eye on Earth Summit held in Dubai in October
2018. This paper aims to advance the ongoing dialogue with
stakeholders to establish a vision and strategy to harness and deploy
the power of the information age to solve global environmental
challenges. In short, combining data with people and planet to
achieve prosperity and peace. It is also a response to the request of
the UN Secretary General for “bringing about a data revolution” (UN
Secretary General’s Independent Expert Advisory Group on a Data
Revolution for Sustainable Development [IEAG] 2014). Building a
conceptual vision for a global ecosystem of data, algorithms and
insight can be used to achieve key environmental outcomes in
support of the 2030 agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change
and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (UN 2015;
United Nations, General Assembly [UNGA] 2015; United Nations
Office for Disaster Risk Reduction [UNISDR] 2015).

An ambitious vision and multi-stakeholder process are needed to

ensure data can be used to generate insights as global public goods
that can inform planning, decision-making, investing and impact
monitoring in real time and over the long term. This vision should be
built through a consultative process among private companies,
member states, academia and civil society. In this regard, the UN
Science-Policy-Business Forum on the Environment may offer an
opportunity to anchor such a process. Established during the 3rd UN
Environmental Assembly in December 2017, the forum leverages the
expertise of its members support priority issues, initiatives and
projects that are relevant to UN Environment’s mandate and critical
to the implementation of the SDGs.

During the first meeting of the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum on

the Environment in New York in May 2018, a working group was
established on Data, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence. This paper is
a product of the working group. The working group also aims to
address the issues related to establishing an open digital ecosystem
of data, algorithms and insights and to demonstrate the utility of new
data sources for environmental monitoring through specific examples
and projects.

13
 1. A DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM FOR THE ENVIRONMENT The opportunity to use this data to improve real time
decision making on natural resources could also transform
A) Now is the time for action
global environmental governance frameworks and
Today, the ongoing digital revolution is generating more multilateral environmental agreements. There is
information than ever before on the state of the planet. A tremendous hope that decisions can be made, monitored
combination of satellites, drones, mobile phones, sensors, and enforced using real time spatial and statistical data,
financial transaction technologies and devices connected to thereby closing the gap between alarm, action and impact.
the IoT are collecting real time data that could transform
Indeed, it is the convergence of big data and frontier
the management of earth’s natural resources and
technologies, i.e. technologies that are emerging but have
ecosystems. Spatialised information availability is
not yet been scaled for the mass market, that is unleashing
expanding through: advancements in official statistical
the 4th industrial revolution. This new era is characterised
processes toward geolocating census and survey data; new
by “a range of new technologies that are fusing the
techniques for better utilising administrative data (such as
physical, digital and biological worlds, impacting all
water provisioning, environmental permits, land
disciplines, economies and industries, and even challenging
ownership, etc.); the increased use of earth observation
ideas about what it means to be human” (Schwab 2016).
data and improved data dissemination processes. The
combination of these innovations enables the mapping of: The 4th industrial revolution provides an opportunity to
population, social development and economic actors in a transform the way environmental data is collected and
way that makes it possible understand and predict the use managed; how major environmental trends, patterns, risks
of and demand for natural resources including the and opportunities are analysed; and how market
implications of environmental and climate change. transactions for environmental goods are conducted.

New data management technologies, artificial intelligence, Technology and innovation can also support a critical
block chain11, cloud computing and cloud storage of enabling condition for better governance – the principle of
information are making it possible to manage, share, transparency. Environmental transparency is a
process and analyse large volumes of data in near real time. fundamental pre-condition and catalyst towards
A range of new technologies are also democratising access sustainability because it generates the data needed to
to environmental data, allowing academics, students and achieve accountability, public participation and market
citizen scientists to be directly engaged in data collection, pressure. A range of technologies including earth
analysis and dissemination to the global community. The observation and sensors can both measure environmental
private sector uses data science and spatial information performance and help make these data more publicly
services to connect and influence people, places and available. Generating this data is at the heart of how
products. They also offer the possibly to help green citizens can hold their public institutions and private
consumption by offering consumers more real-time data on companies more accountable – while also offering further
the environmental footprints of different products and on opportunities for innovation.
the social and environmental performance of product
A recent report by the UN Secretary General’s Independent
supply chains (Handayani and Prayogo 2017).
Expert Advisory Group on a Data Revolution for Sustainable
In summary, governments, companies, academics, citizens Development highlights the importance of data, calling
and international organizations are all directly contributing data “the lifeblood of decision making” (IEAG 2014, p. 2).
to an explosion in the availability of global, national and Without high quality data that are collected in a spatial
local data. This is changing the way that the world thinks context, it is almost impossible to design, monitor, and
about and uses information. The newfound wealth of data evaluate effective policies that can achieve the Sustainable
is being generated at multiple scales across time and space Development Goals (SDGs). The High-level Panel on Digital
allowing for monitoring of environmental change across Cooperation was also convened by the UN Secretary-
communities, countries and continents. The level of access General to advance proposals to strengthen cooperation in
to spatialised information is unprecedented. the digital space among Governments, the private sector,
civil society, international organisations, academia, the

10) This paper was co-authored by David Jensen (Head of Environmental Peacebuilding Programme and Co-director of the MapX platform for spatial
environmental data) and Jillian Campbell (Chief Statistician) of UN Environment. Additional inputs from UN Environment were provided by Shereen Zorba, Alex
Caldas, Pascal Peduzzi, Saiful Ridwan, Ben Simmons, Andrew Morton, Inga Petersen, Jason Jabbour, Barbara Hendrie and Shereen Zorba. It was mandated by
the working group on Data, Analytics and AI of the UN Science-Policy-Business Forum, by the UN Environment Chief Scientist, Mr. Jian Liu and by the Director
of the Division Policy and Planning, Mr. Gary Lewis. The paper reflects the inputs and feedback provided by the stakeholder c onsultation process listed in
Annex I.
11) digital information stored in a public database (Fortney 2019).

14
technical community and other relevant stakeholders (UN SDGs at the global, national and local level with
2018b). The Panel is expected to raise awareness about the environmental, social and economic considerations in
transformative impact of digital technologies across society mind, this envisioned data ecosystem must truly be open
and the economy and contribute to the broader public and inclusive. In this case, open means that all stakeholders
debate on how to ensure a safe and inclusive digital future would have access to aggregated information which is
for all, taking into account relevant human rights norms. necessary for producing insights on the environment, while
raw data and individual records may not be included in the
As information is becoming the world’s most valuable
ecosystem due to privacy and pricing concerns. This means
resource, there is an urgent need for governments,
that the ecosystem must represent data from diverse social
companies and citizens to consider how the digital
and technological systems, including from academic,
ecosystem for data, algorithms and insights for the
commercial, official government sources, traditional
environment will be governed. Indeed, the time to act is
ecological knowledge and citizen science.
now – before the governance of environmental data is
concentrated in private hands without sufficient public Investments are essential for closing the gap between the
access, transparency, accountability and quality control. potential for new data to be used in the implementation of
Indeed, what would a Cambridge Analytica style scandal SDGs, and the actual capacity of countries and citizens to
look like if similar measures had been used to target access and use data for effective decision making and
environmental policy, public campaigns and market monitoring. The most notable gaps are found between
investments? We are at an important crossroads where developed and developing countries, between private
decisions that we take today will influence the scope and companies and public agencies, and between urban and
shape of how data and information can be fostered and rural settings.
shared for the coming decades. This paper sets out some of
The stakes are high as massive information asymmetries
the key opportunities, risks and governance challenges
are already being exploited in a manner which amplifies
related to creating data and insight which can be accessed
existing inequalities and social grievances linked to
by all governments and citizens as a global public good.
management of natural resources. In short – information is
B) What’s at stake? power and those who control it could influence the future
sustainability trajectory of our common planet.
A common vision is essential for building an open digital
ecosystem of data, algorithms and insights that can Ultimately, we have twelve years remaining to
generate trustworthy information in real time about the fundamentally shift our global economic systems towards
state of the environment and interactions between the more sustainable trajectories in order to avoid wide scale
economy, society and the environment. These insights environmental degradation, catastrophic climate change
need to be transformed into actionable evidence that can and loss of biodiversity. This kind of exponential
be easily understood by decision-makers, investors, transformation can only be achieved if it is catalysed and
consumers and citizens alike to maximise inclusion, underpinned by leveraging the data, technology, innovation
transparency and accountability. and connectedness offered by the 4th industrial revolution.
Our traditional governance systems have been too slow to
Progress toward the SDGs will not only require utilising new
effectively respond to the environmental crisis that has
sources of data, but also an enhanced ability to bring
been slowly unfolding for the past decades. A new
together these data on the environment with relevant
approach is desperately needed whereby technology and
economic and social data. The ability to analyse real time
innovation underpin and supercharge governance systems
information, as well as long term trends, is essential for
and consumer behaviour in a manner that accelerates and
ensuring a balance between the social, environmental and
scales the necessary economic changes over the coming 12
economic pillars of sustainable development. Policy options
years. This kind of massive transformation can be achieved,
and trade-offs need to be modelled and future scenarios
but it will require leveraging technologies that allow more
need to be visualised in a compelling manner.
rapid decision making based on accurate georeferenced
Big data is a continuum that consists of a mix of commercial data; the ability to seamlessly share data, insights and best
data requiring payment to access together with free and practices among practitioners; and the capacity to engage
open public data that is maintained as part of a global private sector actors as well as citizens of planet earth in a
public good. However, the portion of data that is private common vision of action and mutual accountability.
versus public warrants debate as do the incentives that are
C) Objectives
needed to push as much private data as possible into the
public domain. Indeed, to move towards achieving the This white paper seeks to provide strategic considerations

15
around three main themes. summarised in figure 1. A digital ecosystem basically
transforms raw data using an underlying cloud
1) Digital ecosystem for the environment: to consider the
infrastructure combined with algorithms and analytics into
basic elements of a digital ecosystem for environmental
insights and applications that are accessed by users to help
data, algorithms and insights. These are divided into four
solve real world problems.
areas: data; infrastructure; analysis & algorithms; and
insights & applications. The digital ecosystem that is required to transform raw
data can be understood as having an interlocking series of
2) Benefits, risks and governance aspects: to provide an
key building blocks that work together to produce a
initial mapping of the benefits, risks and governance
‘Flywheel Effect’. The basic idea is that once an
challenges that need to be considered in establishing a
organisation has all of the core technology pieces in place,
digital ecosystem for the environment coupled with the
the pieces have an energy of their own that drive other
incentive structures to integrate data from both private
positive changes and innovations. The most critical aspect
and public-sector actors.
of a digital ecosystem is understanding how different
3) Entry points and opportunities: to outline some of the technologies are combined and the fundamental
underlying preconditions and opportunities for developing dependences among them. Just like a real ecosystem,
a culture of innovation, data use and analysis. This includes removing or changing individual components can have
through: capacity building; laws, institutions, policies and consequences and unexpected results.
norms; markets and finance; and digital economy business
Beyond the self-replicating aspect of the digital ecosystem,
models.
it is important to keep in mind that technology is only a
means to an outcome - not the outcome itself. While
3. COMPONENTS OF A DIGITAL ECOSYSTEM FOR THE commercial digital ecosystems are used to generate profits,
ENVIRONMENT global public good ecosystems can also be constructed to
advance the SDGs and use technology to underpin their
A digital ecosystem is a distributed, adaptive, open socio- achievement. The following sections describe each of these
technical system with properties of self-organisation, components in more detail.
scalability and sustainability inspired from natural
ecosystems. A digital ecosystem managed by a commercial A digital ecosystem for the environment would not be
firm includes a global network of partners (suppliers, hosted by a single institution or managed as a single
institutions, customers) and stakeholders through which database but would provide a framework for connecting
business problems are solved. In many cases, digital data from different sources with algorithms and cloud
ecosystem models include competition and collaboration computing services. The digital ecosystem would have data
among diverse entities. visualisation and dissemination of actionable insights. The
infrastructure required for a digital ecosystem includes
A digital ecosystem for the environment should include
working with data providers to ensure that data can be
four main components: data; infrastructure; algorithms & included in the ecosystem, providing access to cloud
analytics; and insights & applications. These are
FIGURE 1: PROPOSED DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT ECOSYSTEM FOR DATA, ALGORITHMS AND INSIGHTS

16
 computing services so that data can be analysed, and Data can arise from many different sources. Data stems
bringing together data and expertise with the demand for from academic research; from administrative data
environmental insights and applications. Across all aspects maintained by Government ministries (for example,
of a digital ecosystem there is a need to promote sharing of education registers or environmental permits); from
experiences which can leapfrog knowledge and analysis surveys and censuses carried out by Governments and from
across domains and locations. a variety of technologies, including, satellites, sensors,
drones, mobile phones, financial transactions and other
A) Data
digital devices.12

TABLE 2: NONEXHAUSTIVE LIST OF KEY DATA SOURCES

Data source Statistics

Satellites 1,738 Satellites in orbit in 2017
5,700 generated scenes per day (open source)
Landsat archive 32 years – over 5 million scenes (Union of Concerned Scientists [UCS] 2018).

Internet of Things IoT creates 400 zettabytes of data

(IoT) per year (1 zettabyte is 1,000,000,000,000 Gigabytes Or 2 billion years of uninterrupted music on
spotify) (Worth 2014).

Sensors 15.4 billion sensors in 2015

75 billion by 2025 (Columbus 2016).

Mobile phones 5 billion unique mobile phones offering opportunities for geocoded data collection as well as daily
movements (Sawyers 2017).

Mobile apps 3 million unique apps (Statista 2018).

Internet access Over 4 billion people, 54% of population (Internet World Stats 2018).

Censuses and surveys More than 7 billion people are covered by censuses every 10 years (Scott 2005, p. 14; Baffour, King
and Valente 2013, p. 11). A variety of surveys are conducted by all Governments around the world at
varied periodicity.

Citizen science eBird (500 million records), Artportalen (Sweden: 58 million) Artsdatabanken (Norway: 16 million),
and iNaturalist (16 million),(Moen 2017, Swedish LifeWatch 2017; eBird Team 2018; iNaturalist
2019b).

Publications and A wealth of data is available in academic publications including over 2.2 million scientific articles in
documents science and engineering alone in 2016, corporate reports encompassing over 50,000 corporate
sustainability reports found in one database alone and other documents which can be made
discoverable using web scrapping algorithms (Global Reporting Initiative [GRI] 2016; National Science
Board [NSB] 2018, p. 112).

Administrative data Governments, utility companies, and other services providers maintain data related to registration,
transaction and record keeping. Many countries currently have records-keeping requirements in
place and those without such regulations are under pressure to form new requirements and practice
thorough records-keeping, resulting in a wealth of data spanning government bodies (World Bank
2000).

Finance data Virtually all non-cash financial transactions are recorded. Financial databases cover 189 countries to
date, this includes every region and income level in the world (International Monetary Fund [IMF]
2017; World Bank 2019).

12) This combination of data is often referred to as “big data” meaning data sets that are so large and complex that traditional data-processing software are
inadequate to deal with them.

17
 Different types of data span geographic scales and time B) Infrastructure
periods from local to global level. Data can either be
As data points can be accessed in the location where they
structured in a traditional database or unstructured. Data
are currently stored, the design of a digital ecosystem
include a high diversity of data quality which can be
would provide a network of data sources that can be linked
generated by multiple actors including international
to cloud computing services. This would allow users to
organisations, governments, companies, academics and
access massive processing power for data analysis; to
citizens. Data curation is a way to ensure high data quality
integrate data from different sources and to use data for
using data authentication and management. Ultimately,
global, national or local level analysis. The storage of open
data curation does not only ensure high quality of data, but
algorithms and descriptions of algorithms would allow
it also makes data use more efficient by improving data
users to learn from the experiences of others. Insights
discovery and analysis for users and integrating data
generated could be shared publicly and once validated,
(Knight 2017). Some of the statistics in Table 1 showcase
feed into visualisation platforms such as the World
the volume data currently being generated. Key data
Environment Situation Room of UN Environment which
sources that are relevant to tackle environmental issues
uses MapX for geospatial data and a relational database
and the management of natural resources are included in
structure for indicator data (UNEP 2019).
Table 2 (non-exhaustive list).
A cloud-based infrastructure for the digital ecosystem has
The above represents a picture of the current data
many benefits, but it does rely on users having regular
available; however, the volume of data generated is rapidly
access to the internet in order to share data, create
expanding by the day. For example, the number of
algorithms or visualise insights generated. Currently, there
satellites that Governments and private sector
is a need to improve information and communication
organisations have put into space has expanded from a
technology (ICT) infrastructure in order to maximise the
single satellite in 1957 to more than 1,700 active satellites
value of a digital ecosystem, but as global connectivity is
today; and the capabilities of satellites to capture and
increasing this will be less of a constraint. In particular, the
transmit data provide new opportunities for understanding
global roll-out of 5G technology for mobile communications
the planet (USC 2018). For example, a company called
over the next few years will provide more affordable,
Planet is able to map the earth every day at 3m resolution
reliable, faster access for sharing data and accessing
while the Sentinel series of satellite missions will support
information which will help lessen the information divide
mapping of the planet every 7 days at 10m resolution
(Herman 2018).
coupled with radar and high spectral frequencies for
monitoring oceanographic change, air quality, atmospheric As data management techniques and data infrastructure
conditions and other environmental variables (European differ across stakeholders, the core of a digital ecosystem
Space Agency [ESA] 2018). for the environment is the need to ensure effective data
management. This includes ensuring: that environmental
The potential to use this range of data for global
data is accessible and transparent, that information on data
environmental monitoring and governance is
standards is kept so data can be integrated with other data
unprecedented. However, access to data alone is
sources and the data custodians are committed to storing
insufficient. A robust digital ecosystem is needed to
and maintaining data over time. In this regard, a digital
transform that data into information, insights, indicators,
ecosystem for the environment should also promote open
investment decisions and impacts. Data from different
data access and openness and standardisation of
sources need to be able to be integrated and processed.
application programming interfaces (APIs)13, including data
Data provenance is a critical investment to support the derived from citizen science. This includes promoting
quality and accountability of the data commons. This existing data sharing standards, including the Statistical
includes data attribution, licensing, digital object identifiers Data and Metadata eXchange (SDMX)14 which is endorsed
(DOI), Decentralised identifiers (DIDs), token binding, meta by the UN for sharing data between national and
data using ISO standards, etc. Increasingly metrics will be international partners; the Open Geospatial Consortium
needed to measure data integrity. (OGC)15 which is adopting web map services (WMS)16, open
13) a set of functions and procedures allowing the creation of applications that access the features or data of an operating system, application, or other service.
14) SDMX, which stands for Statistical Data and Metadata eXchange is an international initiative that aims at standardising and modernising (“industrialising”)
the mechanisms and processes for the exchange of statistical data and metadata among international organisations and their member countries. (Statistical
Data and Metadata eXchange [SDMX] 2018).
15) The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is an international industry consortium of over 526 companies, government agencies and universities participating
in a consensus process to develop publicly available interface standards. (Open Geospatial Data Consortium [OGC] 2019a).
16) The OGC WMS (Web Map Server) standard specifies the interface and parameters to dynamically request maps from a server. Every OGC WMS is
individually configured and can serve a multitude of different maps, combination of layers and can optionally even be styled with different cartography(OGC
2019b).
18
 data cube efforts17, web feature services (WFS)18, web [ODC] 2019).
coverage service (WCS)19 and web processing services
The Web Feature Service (WFS) represents a change in the
(WPS)20; and the GEO DAB which is brokering a framework
way geographic information is created, modified and
that interconnects hundreds of heterogeneous and
exchanged on the Internet. Rather than sharing geographic
autonomous supply systems (the enterprise systems
information at the file level using File Transfer Protocol
constituting the GEO metasystem) by providing mediation,
(FTP), for example, the WFS offers direct fine-grained
harmonisation, transformation, and Quality of Service
access to geographic information at the feature and feature
(QoS) capabilities. These existing data sharing standards
property level (OGC 2019c).
create a starting point for the digital ecosystem to foster
open data access and effective data management. A Web Coverage Service (WCS) offers multi-dimensional
coverage data for access over the Internet (OGC 2019d).
There are many of sectoral examples of success in building
open data infrastructure that could be drawn from. For The OpenGIS® Web Processing Service (WPS) Interface
example, the international network and research Standard provides rules for standardizing how inputs and
infrastructure convened through GBIF—the Global outputs (requests and responses) for geospatial processing
Biodiversity Information Facility—provides free and open services (OGC 2019e).
access to more than 1 billion individual records on where C) Algorithms and analytics
and when species have been observed or collected. This
georeferenced, open data uses an agreed set of While data are the foundation of the digital ecosystem, it
Biodiversity Information Standards. requires both processing infrastructure together with
algorithms and analytics to extract relevant insights and
a set of functions and procedures allowing the creation of business intelligence. Indeed, big data must be coupled
applications that access the features or data of an with analytical methods involving artificial intelligence and
operating system, application, or other service. machine learning to be used to detect patterns, identify
SDMX, which stands for Statistical Data and Metadata trends, determine interactions, optimise variables and
eXchange is an international initiative that aims at make predictions.
standardising and modernising (“industrialising”) the The question of who pays to build and maintain this data
mechanisms and processes for the exchange of statistical processing and analytical infrastructure is critical. For
data and metadata among international organisations and example, Google Earth Engine uses cloud computing to
their member countries. (Statistical Data and Metadata bring the algorithms to the data as opposed to bringing the
eXchange [SDMX] 2018). data to the processing unit. This has tremendous potential
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is an international to be harnessed to better monitor the planet. At the same
industry consortium of over 526 companies, government time, it is also critical to ensure access to global data is well
agencies and universities participating in a consensus managed, that the use of global data as a global public
process to develop publicly available interface standards. good is fairly financed and that governments have a voice
(Open Geospatial Data Consortium [OGC] 2019a). in the governance and scope of the use of global data. The
business model for this kind of public good platform
The OGC WMS (Web Map Server) standard specifies the
offered by a private sector actor should be transparent so
interface and parameters to dynamically request maps
that governments can choose to use it with full knowledge
from a server. Every OGC WMS is individually configured
of the risks, requirements and trade-offs.
and can serve a multitude of different maps, combination
of layers and can optionally even be styled with different The final applications and websites which consume data
cartography (OGC 2019b). feeds and curate the data into specific user products are
incredibly dynamic. These applications receive, remix and
The Open Data Cube (ODC) is an Open Source Geospatial
reshape multiple data streams in a manner where the data
Data Management and Analysis Software project that helps
can “flow”. Indeed, one of the goals is to give users the
you harness the power of Satellite data (Open Data Cube
power to freely innovate, analyse and recombine data in

17) The Open Data Cube (ODC) is an Open Source Geospatial Data Management and Analysis Software project that helps you harness the power of Satellite
data (Open Data Cube [ODC] 2019).
18) The Web Feature Service (WFS) represents a change in the way geographic information is created, modified and exchanged on the Internet. Rather than
sharing geographic information at the file level using File Transfer Protocol (FTP), for example, the WFS offers direct fine -grained access to geographic
information at the feature and feature property level (OGC 2019c).
19) A Web Coverage Service (WCS) offers multi-dimensional coverage data for access over the Internet (OGC 2019d).
20) The OpenGIS® Web Processing Service (WPS) Interface Standard provides rules for standardizing how inputs and outputs (req uests and responses) for
geospatial processing services (OGC 2019e).

19
 ways that cannot be predicted. For example, existing citizen main benefits and opportunities offered by the 4th
science initiatives on air quality have increased the industrial revolution for the environment? Potential
awareness of air quality issues and have helped fill in data benefits may include:
gaps by providing a mechanism for citizens to provide data
1) More efficient and lower cost data processing
which complement existing data models.
technologies: the processing of large global data sets can
D) Insights and applications now happen at a fraction of the cost and time compared to
a decade ago. For example, the Global Surface Water
Data products are only useful if they provide actionable
Explorer which uses a timelapse sequence of the Earth
information which can inform policy; improve transparency
using Landsat satellite images takes around 2 million hours
and accountability; influence investments, business
of computation time (European Commission’s Joint
practices and markets; change consumer behaviour or sway
Research Centre [JRC] 2016). This would have taken a single
public opinion. Currently, many existing data products,
computer around 228 years to process - but today takes a
statistics and indicators are under-utilised or not fit-for-
parallel series of 66,000 computers in the cloud only 1.5
purpose. Developments in new data sources, data science
days to crunch. Today we have the ability to process data
and analytical techniques provide an opportunity to create
on a global scale to monitor the vital signs of the planet
useful information. To guarantee the information is well-
(JRC 2016).
adapted, the audience (i.e. data users) must be engaged
throughout the process to ensure that the products 2) Automated monitoring with near real time spatial data:
developed will provide the information in a way that is easy one of the largest potential benefits involves the ability to
to access and easy to digest. set up automated artificial intelligence algorithms that are
applied to a combination of data feeds to monitor specific
One new data technique to provide actionable information
environmental issues and to automatically detect certain
includes the Global Climate Change Initiative Land Cover
land use changes or movements. For example, both Global
Database of the European Space Agency which can be used
Forest Watch and Global Fishing Watch offer regular global
to identify trends and hotspots for land degradation and is
monitoring of deforestation and tracking of the global
used by the IPCC. Within the Fintech21 world, the “Ant
commercial fishing fleet respectively (Global Fishing Watch
Forest” app gamifies actions to reduce carbon emissions
2019; Global Forest Watch [GFW] 2019). Importantly,
among the 700 million users of the AliPay22 ecosystem in
frontier technologies are generating huge amounts of
China. When enough points have been earned to grow a
spatial data that can be triangulated to monitor a range of
virtual tree, it is converted into a real tree, planted in the
different environmental trends across multiple scales. This
desert in Inner Mongolia.
offers the potential for earlier identification of risks and
focused action.
4. POTENTIAL BENEFITS, RISKS AND GOVERNANCE 3) Improved transparency, data quality and data
CHALLENGES integration: ensuring that methodologies, metadata and
An emerging ecosystem of data, algorithms and insights information about data integrity are publicly available and
could potentially transform the way that environmental discoverable will provide assurance to users that they are
data is collected and managed; how major environmental using the best available data. Additionally, this will inform
trends, patterns, risks and opportunities are analysed; and which data can be pulled together to create integrated
how market transactions for environmental goods are analysis across multiple datasets from multiple sources. For
conducted. As with any technology, there are trade-offs to example, a highly useful analysis of potential risks to water
make in terms of addressing potential benefits, risks and security could arise from integrating: environmental data
governance challenges. The following section outlines some on ecosystem cover, water quality data, geospatial
of the most important considerations. population data and data on the location of industry.

A) What are the potential benefits? 4) Accelerating transformation of science into

policymaking and impact monitoring: data and analytics
The first question relates to the potential benefits that can provide an improved evidence-base for policy makers,
could flow to environmental stakeholders from increased in particular through modelling different policy options and
access to a digital information ecosystem. What are the developing forwarding looking scenarios. As the sources of

21) Financial technology, often shortened to FinTech or fintech, is the new technology and innovation that aims to compete with traditional financial methods in
the delivery of financial services. The use of smartphones for mobile banking, investing services and cryptocurrency are examples of technologies aiming to
make financial services more accessible to the general public.
22) A digital payment platform (Alipay 2019).

20
 data grow richer and more diverse, there are many ways to of information relevant for targeting policy interventions
use the resulting insights to make decisions faster, more while helping to create incentives and awareness towards
accurate, more consistent, and more transparent (Henke et greener consumption.
al. 2016). For example, smart cities with full IoT capabilities
8) Enhancing investor and consumer awareness and
can monitor air quality or hyper-local weather conditions.
transparency: real time data on the environmental
5) Increasing citizen engagement and co-creation of performance and the supply chains of different
knowledge: it is becoming apparent that professional commodities and raw materials has the potential to
science alone cannot provide information at the scales and dramatically influence investor and consumer awareness
resolutions necessary to understand environmental and behaviour. There is huge potential to use data and
change. The new ecosystem offers tremendous opportunity artificial intelligence algorithms to help nudge consumers
for citizen science, local engagement and public to make more informed product choices while also naming
participation in decision-making and compliance and shaming companies with poor environmental
monitoring. Importantly, there can be a multidirectional performance across their supply chains. For example, the
exchange of data between scientists, citizens, governments Earth Accounting app enables consumers to access product
and companies. The Blue Sky map app is a good example information around specific issues of interest (Evans 2016).
whereby real-time air quality data for 380 cities in China Google and Facebook could also use a combination of big
and pollution data from 9,000 companies can be accessed data and AI to help consumers compare and select more
and then shared on social media to name and shame sustainable products or offer “opt in” filters for advertising
companies (Qin 2015). Across the biodiversity community to target and promote more environmentally friendly
mobile applications for citizen science and real-time products. Thomson-Reuters are using big data to inform
environmental sensors are being increasingly used, as an their Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Index23
example, the iNaturalist app is a crowd-sourced species to help mitigate and assess the risk of companies to inform
identification system and occurrence recording tool, driven sustainable investment decisions.
by citizen science with over 16 million records (iNaturalist
9) Decentralised and trusted environmental transactions:
2019b).
the environmental crisis is growing partly because of a lack
6) Socioeconomic and educational opportunities: this of trust and direct connection. The increasing distance
proposal offers opportunities for the wealth of existing between multiple actors who are unknown to each other
technically-competent workforce. Promoting an ecosystem exemplifies this lack of connection that exists between
as for the global public good means that the careers and companies, governments, and individual consumers. This
opportunities created in this ecosystem would allow distance creates many opportunities for fraud, failed
benefit individuals interested in technological solutions to policies and a lack of direct responsibility. The time may be
sustainable development in the public sector. On top of ripe for 'crypto governance', in which trust, rule of law and
offering opportunity to the existing technical community, enforcement are supported by frontier technologies such
there are new opportunities to learning young as blockchain and smart contracts (Chapron 2017). For
professionals in the science, technology, engineering, and sustainability, blockchain technology could be a game-
math (STEM) fields. A learn-by-doing opportunity for young changer by enabling decentralised transactions and
professionals is vital to gaining necessary skills to push new contracting linked to natural resources. Smart contracts
innovation using the unparalleled resource of such an with environmental performance conditions can be
ecosystem. connected directly into IoT sensors and environmental
oracles (trusted databases) to verify compliance against
7) Engagement of the business community: companies are
certain performance criteria. Datasets could also be
becoming increasingly engaged in the evaluation of the
managed using blockchain technology in order to track
sustainability and environmental soundness of their
usage and establish mechanisms for micropayments.
business processes, including through a dedicated SDG
indicator on Corporate Sustainability Reporting (SDG B) What are the potential risks?
indicator 12.6.1). Additionally, there is a growing
Moving beyond these potential opportunities, there is also
recognition of the value of Corporate Sustainability
a need to consider a series of questions linked to potential
Reporting for not only large multi-national companies but
risks. If information is power, then those who control
also small and medium size enterprises. The data and
access to information and processing capacity hold more
information contained in such reports can provide a wealth
power than other stakeholders. We need to carefully

23) Tracks the performance of companies with superior ratings for environmental, social and governance practices (Thomson Reuters 2018).

21
understand the implications of potential power imbalances that may be the best available.
and how these can be mitigated.
4) Information asymmetries and inequities: data are
One of the most important considerations going forward is owned and generated in particular nodes of data intensity,
that the infrastructure needed to process data and the which creates a potential for massive information
algorithms needed to extract insights are currently held by asymmetries among companies, governments and local
a handful of technology companies. While public communities. If only the largest commercial firms can
institutions are increasingly deploying these technologies, afford to pay for AI-powered global monitoring of data,
their capacities and access to financial resources often lags what negotiating advantage does this bring for exploration
behind private sector actors. Public sector actors simply and contracting of high value natural resources? How can
cannot keep up with the pace of innovation together with governments and local communities possibly negotiate a
the engineering capacity and research and development fair deal when they lack access to such high-quality analysis
funding that private sector companies can deploy. As a and insights? This kind of monopoly of knowledge could
result, public-private partnerships will likely be needed at create a massive imbalance of power in transactions linked
various points across the ecosystem to tackle global to natural resources – a worst case market failure and
environmental problems and contribute to positive public catastrophe for sustainable development if it leads to
outcomes. New frontier technologies with public good lopsided and investment deals and unfair benefit sharing
environmental applications may also need help to outcomes. Such an asymmetry of data may additionally
accelerate and scale through blended public and private lead to speculative investment from the entities with the
financing. Against this background, potential risks to greatest access to information, which could lead to
consider include: disrupting global markets, stocks and currencies as well as
lead to major speculative investments in land, water and
1) Platform monopolies and predatory pricing: by having a
other commodities allowing for local shortages and price
near monopoly on the ability to process big environmental
spikes.
data, tech firms will face a temptation. While their initial
intentions to build data platforms might be noble, once 5) Conflict of interest between profit making, public goods
these platforms begin to scale, there may well be a shift to and green-washing: to avoid regulation and public scrutiny,
a winner take all mentality. “Free” is often transformed into many technology companies have jumped on the “big data
“pay to play” once the revenue potential becomes clear. If for social good” bandwagon and often frame their mission
fundamental dependences are created between companies as making the world a better place. It is important to
and public sector partners, what safeguards are needed to understand how such firms can resolve potential conflicts
reduce the potential for progressive price hikes and of interest that might arise between their public mission of
prevent predatory pricing? doing good together with the private mission of making
money. In many cases, the global public good of protecting
2) Privacy violations: much of the data collected from
a certain natural resource could be in direct contradiction
individual transactions is maintained in the private sector.
with a commercial interest to sell the same data to exploit
Many countries do not have strong legal frameworks to
it. How will this conflict be managed? While many
regulate the sharing and anonymisation of such data where
companies have adopted ethics policies that requires
it may have important environmental applications. There is
disclosure of potential conflicts of interest – it is uncertain
a need to strike a balance between ensuring the privacy of
if these policies will truly manage conflict.
individuals while utilising the full potential of the data
available. What are the implications of data breaches and 6) Environmental impact of technology: CO2 footprint of
privacy violations for environmental data, including the this technology would contribute to the issues that the
location of strategic natural resources and the proposal is tasked with solving. In 2012, about 5% of the
environmental performance of individual firms? world’s electrical energy was consumed by ICT and this
released almost 2% of total CO2 emissions. These numbers
3) Lack of understanding of data quality: more and more
are increasing, but the increases in energy use and
data are being generated by different sources. This includes
emissions are expected to be balanced out by decreases in
data which employ high-quality data standards and data
other fields (Gelenbe and Caseau 2015). This risk calls for
which are created without a standard or created with a
energy use and emissions tracking to confirm that the net
particular bias. This creates a challenge for governments,
impact is positive.
communities and individuals in determining which data can
be trusted. There is also a need to distinguish between 7) Blended financing24 and public subsidies: if public funds
official government sources of data and non-official sources and subsidies are made available to commercial firms to

22
 scale frontier technologies though blended financing, how needed to share non-commercial data to maximise the
can the underlying intellectual property, data and amount of data in the public domain? How will
algorithms be open sourced and released into the public governments and other public-sector actors who are
domain? How can blended financing be used as an deploying sensors in IoT applications such as smart cities
incentive to on-board companies in the use of new manage and publish this data?
technologies to cover the public good cost of engagement
3) Open and accessible data and algorithms: open data are
rather than simply subsidise the underlying business
data that can be freely used, re-used and redistributed by
model? Additionally, how can private sector funds and in-
anyone and are essential for improving data governance.
kind technology be leveraged to support global data
Currently, APIs are the best way of sharing data which can
products which have no immediate commercial value and
be re-used and redistributed. We are now faced with the
are only useful for public good?
challenge of data spread across multiple formats such as
C) What are the governance challenges? excel tables, pdf documents and unconnected databases
which are difficult for users to access. A global ecosystem
Finally, given the above combination of potential
should consist of a mix of open and public data, combined
opportunities and risks, it is essential to ask how the entire
with private data with use restrictions in place to ensure
digital ecosystem can be governed in a manner where
privacy and confidentiality is maintained. This ecosystem
governments and citizens have a voice in decision-making
should include a basic set of georeferenced and open data
and where the lines of accountability are clear. Going
with international standards and an existing international
forward, the main question for public officials is to agree on
framework (such as the SDGs or multilateral environment
the scope and shape of the governance framework for
agreements). This data should be coupled with relevant
environmental data. In particular, how to ensure that it
environmental data for assessing the state of the
becomes a key component of the global environmental
environment and other social and economic data which are
governance framework and maintained as a global public
needed for analysing the interactions between society, the
good? In this regard, a number of key governance
economy and the environment. These open data standards
questions need to be addressed:
apply to data generated at any level (national, sub-national,
1) Standards and transparency: a series of international regional or global). As artificial intelligence algorithms
standards will be essential to underpin the convergence of needed to process open data begin to proliferate, it will be
frontier technologies. Interoperability standards are equally important to publish them in an open format to
necessary ensure data can be seamlessly shared or avoid potential “black box” applications.
streamed on different platforms and integrated for
4) Quality control/quality assurance: as private sector
analysis. Similar standards regarding metadata, data
actors occupy an increasing role in the delivery of public
taxonomies and classification, and data integrity should
environmental monitoring services using data and their
follow. Full transparency is needed on who generated the
related algorithms, a minimum level of quality control/
data, how it was analysed, how quality was controlled and
quality assurance is needed to build public trust. All
who takes final responsibility for the content. The SDG
methodologies and metadata should be publicly available
indicator framework provides a starting point for ensuring
in order for data users to ensure that the data are not only
the use of standards for a set of 241 indicators but does not
of high quality and unbiased but also are fit for purpose.
apply more broadly to other data and indicators. Therefore,
Importantly, guidance is needed on the data layers that can
while standards for the digital ecosystem can use the
be mixed in a scientifically sound manner that takes into
existing SDG standards as a model, new standards need to
account spatial and temporal resolution, spatial
be developed to address critical questions.
autocorrelation and the modifiable areal unit problem
2) Data sharing laws and incentives: as companies begin to (MAUP).25 New verification and certification standards will
deploy sensors and IoT applications across their supply be needed to indicate the quality of the underlying
chains and operations, they will start to collect huge analytical process.
qualities of useful environmental data that could populate
5) Privacy and data security safeguards: guidance will be
the data in the digital ecosystem. How much of this data
needed on the set of organisational policies, procedures
should companies be required to share as part of their legal
and maintenance of security measures that are designed to
or social licence? How can the privacy of individuals be
protect private information, data and access within the
ensured within the legal framework? What incentives are
24) Blended finance is the strategic use of development finance for the mobilisation of additional commercial finance towards the SDGs (Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD] 2016).
25)a source of statistical bias that occurs in the aggregation of spatial data that can significantly influence the results of hypothesis tests

23
ecosystem. Strong legal frameworks are essential for 3) Trust building and buy-in: many Governments and other
protecting the privacy of individuals, particularly due the data users lack the capacity to analyse the utility of new
fact that much data are privately owned and the intrinsic data technology and artificial intelligence applications. As a
value of these data. result, the uptake of globally derived data products is low.
There is a need to form partnerships which allow users to
6) Intellectual property and revenue sharing: new
increase their engagement and trust while at the same time
intellectual property laws need to be developed to account
being able to leverage new data and AI algorithms which
for derived data products based on a mix of underlying
are being generated by others, including the private sector.
data sources, including commercial and non-commercial
data. In other words, how can intellectual property 4) Citizen awareness and engagement: creating
protections apply to a final composite data product with information that can be provided to the public in a
various input data layers subsisting of different commercial digestible way increases the ability of citizens to better
use restrictions. Ideally, data sets should be given a unique engage in policy processes and insist on accountability
digital fingerprint so that users can have absolute measures. Citizen science communities also provide an
assurance on the history of the data set, the most recent opportunity to better engage with the public.
version, the ownership and the end user license agreement
5) Informing consumer awareness and choice through
(EULA). This would also allow the custodians of data sets to
new techniques to stimulate engagement with data and
track how their data are being used in data applications
insights: there is a tremendous opportunity to use data
and participate in and micro-payment systems.
about the environmental footprint of products and their
supply chains to inform consumer choices using mobile
apps and e-commerce suites. Using blockchain technology
5. ENTRY POINTS AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR
for supply chain management would permit companies to
ENGAGEMENT
offer consumers assured information on the Environment,
Clearly, planet earth desperately needs the best data and Social and Governance (ESG) performance of products. The
processing power humanity has to offer. As international consumer would have absolutely certainty on the supply
organisations and countries move forward in partnership chain and authenticity of the product by accessing the
with the private sector, a vision is needed on how different blockchain history.
components of an ecosystem for environment data,
B) Institutions, laws, policies and norms
algorithms and insights needs to be built, governed and
financed. This section provides a list of entry points and Finding a balance between protecting privacy and security,
opportunities. recognising the economic value of data and promoting
open data requires strong legal frameworks and
A) Capacity
institutional mechanisms. Currently, advancements in data
Currently capacity gaps in collecting data, employing generation have outpaced the development of legislation
frontier technologies and creating insights exist between and policies related to data generation. A digital ecosystem
different countries, sectors within countries, and especially for the environment, and more broadly the entire global
between the public and private sector. Building a digital composite of data and analytics should fall under a
ecosystem for the environment which provides global and governance system which includes institutions, laws,
local insight, including for vulnerable and isolated policies and norms which may include the following
communities, will require improving human, financial and elements:
infrastructure capacity at all levels. This would include:
1) Innovation culture: help identify and create institutional
1) Training and capacity building: it is essential that the incentives for sharing data, developing innovative
needs of data users are placed at the centre of all efforts. applications and building internal capacity for uptake.
Training and capacity building programmes will be needed
2) Institutions, laws and policies: provide technical
to reduce the potential for massive information
guidance on legal frameworks related to data governance,
asymmetries between different stakeholders.
openness, accessibility, privacy, and cost sharing.
2) Leveraging private sector capacities and infrastructure:
3) Disclosure and due diligence: promote the disclosure of
consider how to structure public private partnerships that
companies on the use of data sets and AI algorithms for
will be required to process data and apply AI algorithms
investment decisions, environmental impact assessments
using the infrastructure and capacities of major technology
and due diligence. A global mechanism is needed to report
firms.
and redress the negative unintended consequences of data

24
and artificial intelligence. This mechanism should be a While protection of commercially sensitive and strategic
resource for when countries feel that data is being used in data is important – it is now possible to extract a subset of
a non-competitive and monopolistic manner, or if sensitive this information or aggregated information that can be
data is being collected without consent. open and accessible.

4) Environmental requirements in smart contracts: looking C) Markets and finance

even further into the future, there is huge potential for
To create a global culture that encourages the use of data
blockchain technology and “smart contracts” to
and insights for action will require market and financial
revolutionise the management of natural resources and the
incentives. These incentives may be dictated by policy, by
environment. Indeed, the moment that investment
creating specific taxes or subsidies, by allocating money for
contracts, green bonds or resource concessions move into
research and development, or by providing a means to
smart contracting there will be a massive opportunity to
improve or change public perception
include social and environmental performance
requirements directly in the blockchain. Smart contracts 1) Financing for innovation research and development:
would automatically execute once a set of agreed must be identified to speed the uptake of relevant frontier
conditions are met, such as emission standards, water technologies for the environment through public and
quality or energy production. They would run exactly as private financing (grants, guarantees or loans). The
programmed without any possibility of censorship, fraud or objective is to stimulate and leverage private sector capital
third-party interference. A smart contract could be for global public goods and to use data to measure the
informed by traditional monitoring data from a public- positive environmental impacts at scale.
sector actor or automated to rely on data from an 2) Environmental performance monitoring policy
environmental sensor, a satellite image and an artificial requirements: establish standards for environmental
intelligence algorithm. impact assessment and environmental performance
5) Information sharing and public verification of smart monitoring, which include disclosure of relevant non-
contracts: one of the most interesting dimensions of the commercial data into the digital ecosystem. This should
smart contract is the potential to support information include both baseline data as well as regular environmental
sharing among all stakeholders. Everyone involved in the performance monitoring.
contract can be informed in real time of each execution or 3) Corporate sustainability reporting: promote global
addition to the blockchain thereby maximising sustainability reporting of companies with differing level of
transparency and trust. Smart contracts could even offer ambition depending on the company size. There should be
the possibility for a benefit verification mechanism among a mechanism for small and medium companies to
stakeholders. Each stakeholder could digitally report on the demonstrate the efforts that they are making to achieve
achievement of the contractual requirement in each block, sustainability. For larger companies and multinational
and once all conditions are met, the contract block would companies, a more stringent set of information will
execute forward. This could enhance participatory continue to be required through legal obligations.
environment monitoring and give local communities a
direct voice in the verification of agreed jobs, revenues and 4) Blended finance and green bonds: for projects which
other benefits. disclose relevant non-commercial environmental
performance data, blended finance and green bonds could
6) Ethical frameworks: as technological innovation moves automatically stream into the global data trust with the
faster than institutions, it must be steered with strong option for anonymisation. Green bonds have been created
ethnical and value frameworks. Each country will adopt to fund projects that have positive environmental and/or
approaches relative to their political culture, values and climate benefits.
social context. However, at the global level – the
implementation of a global ecosystem must reflect agreed 5) Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors:
there is growing evidence that suggests that ESG factors,
principles of international law and human rights. A new
when integrated into investment analysis and portfolio
social contract between companies, governments and
construction, may offer investors potential long-term
citizens is also required where mutual obligations and
performance advantages. As a result, there is a need to
responsibilities are spelled out. The cost of doing business
understand how ESG metrics can be strengthened to
anywhere in the world should be the release of relevant
ensure maximum impact based on real-time data and
non-commercial data into the digital ecosystem for the
information. In particular, how can the ESG performance of
environment s that can be used to measure SDG progress.
a company be calculated on the basis of actual

25
environmental and social impacts in a transparent and AirBnB): providing temporary access to goods and services
robust way. traditionally only available through purchase. Includes
‘Sharing Economy’, which takes a commission from people
6) Supply chain transparency: there is a tremendous
monetising their assets (home, car, capital) by lending them
opportunity to use emerging technologies, such as
to ‘borrowers’.
blockchain, for supply chain management in a manner that
would permit companies to offer consumers assured 7) Cooperative Model (Waterwatch Cooperative): an
information on the Environment, Social and Governance autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to
(ESG) performance of products. The consumer would have meet a specific need through a jointly-owned and
absolutely certainty on the supply chain and authenticity of democratically-controlled enterprise.
the product. In addition, there is high potential for the non-
8) On-Demand Model (Uber, Operator, Taskrabbit, cloud
commercial aspects of these data to be potentially shared.
services from Amazon, Microsoft): monetises time and
D) Business models sells instant-access to a product or service at a premium.

There is a need to understand the range of business models 9) Ecosystem Model (Apple, Google, Microsoft Office):
in the digital economy that can support the sells an interlocking and interdependent suite of products
operationalisation of a digital ecosystem for environmental and services that increase in value as more are purchased.
data. It is likely that the ecosystem will need to employ Creates consumer dependency.
multiple business models which engage the private sector,
10) Crowd-sourcing model (99Designs, Fiverr): taps into
public sector, public-private partnerships and finally non-
the collective intelligence and experience of the crowd to
profits toward the provisioning of data, algorithm and
complete business transactions on the basis of competitive
insight as global public goods. In particular, the following
bidding.
business models offer interesting potential opportunities:
11) Crowd-funding model (Kick starter): funding a project
1) Subscription Model (Netflix, Apple Music, New York
or venture by raising small amounts of money from a large
Times): taking a product or service that is traditionally
number of people. Crowdfunding offers a forum for anyone
purchased on an ad hoc basis, and locking-in repeat
who has an idea to pitch it to potential investors in
customers by charging a subscription fee for continued
exchange for a reward, profits from the future product, or
access to the product/service.
an equity stake in the company.
2) Pay as you go model (Kindle, online journals, Mobility):
12) Initial coin offering (Ethereum, MobileGo): the
users pay only for services which are used. In some cases,
cryptocurrency equivalent to an Initial Public Offering (IPO)
users also pay an annual membership fee. This also
in the mainstream investment world. A company looking to
includes micropayments which is a kind of transaction is
create a new coin, app, or service launches an IPO.
used to access a certain type of content, which could be an
Investors hope that the token will perform exceptionally
article on a webpage, a song, or the next level in a video
well into the future.
game.
13) Open Access (Wikipedia): refers to any type of access
3) Freemium/Premium Model (Spotify, LinkedIn, Dropbox,
for which no subscription or payment is necessary. This
Skype, Coursera): users get free access to a basic service or
model is most often used to offer educational, scientific,
product but must pay an upgrade fee to access advanced
academic and other public good materials.
premium features, or versions without embedded
advertising. 14) Non-commercial use model (Key Biodiversity Areas
Partnership): generates global public good data which is
4) The Free Model (Google, Facebook): the model involves
freely offered to public institutions but sold to commercial
offering consumers a ‘free’ product or service and sells
firms to maintain the cost of collection and processing.
their behaviour data and consumer preferences to different
businesses. 15) Derivative product rights model (Descartes Labs):
insights from raw private and public data are extracted and
5) Marketplace Model (eBay, iTunes, App Store, Uber,
sold as new derivative products. The intellectual property
AirBnB): provides a digital marketplace that brings together
(IP) of the original input data does not change hands, and
buyers and sellers directly, in return for a transaction or
instead a new derivative product is created with new IP
placement fee or commission.
conditions and value is created, captured and shared as a
6) Access-over-Ownership Model (Zipcar, Peerbuy, new market opportunity for the data provider. Examples of

26
this include using public and commercial satellite and policy in order to hold governments and companies more
weather data to create crop production forecast, measures accountable.
of industrial activity such as construction rates on a
4) Privacy and data sharing: citizens need to be informed
national scale, or measures of emissions tied to an asset
of issues related to data privacy and have control over
class such as Oil and Gas or coal supply chains.
sharing their own data. This requires a high standard of
transparency and functionality with interfaces so that users
know what information is public and how to choose what is
6. CONCLUSIONS
private vs. public. Many users may need to be educated in
Developing a digital ecosystem for the environment that order to have full control over data sharing.
can be used for better policy intervention and
5) Decision-making information: citizens should have
environmental action will require a transformation for
access to information which allows them to make better
citizens, governments, the private sector and
decisions related to their own consumption, for example,
intergovernmental organisations to collect and share data,
recording preferences related to preferring sustainable
process data and create analytical insights and information.
products, information related to the carbon or ecological
This transformation will be underpinned by a need to
footprint of different goods and services and access to
ensure transparency, accountability and comparability of
information on the supply chain of certain products (e.g.
global environmental data while at the same time
for validation that a product is fair trade). This information
protecting privacy and stimulating innovation and
should be coupled with actionable changes citizens can
investment in data. Science-policy-business partnerships
make to adapt their decisions to consumption information.
for innovative data technologies and digital solutions that
This includes providing alternative sustainable options
accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable
when possible.
Development Goals and the Multilateral Environmental
Agreements are a foundation for ensuring that data is Countries must create a culture of data use, innovation
collected, processed and used to develop insights covering and data governance for national ecosystems:
a range of environmental issues, is inclusive in terms of
1) Data policies: adopt free, full, and open data policies for
geographic coverage, and provides insights to small
the environment which fosters innovation, ensures privacy
communities as well as at the global level. The following
protection and facilitates data sharing, including coverage
are pre-conditions for moving toward a functional digital
of all environmental data that are collected or financed
ecosystem for the environment:
through public funds. Consider requirements for companies
Citizens must be engaged through: to disclose on an annual basis metrics on the volume and
types of data sets they are collected together with related
1) Access to local, relevant data: applications and web-
processing and analytics technologies to help identify
services should be developed to provide citizens with
potential data and technology monopolies.
increasing access to local data about environmental
change. Citizens are in the best position to use data and 2) Monitoring and implementation: develop a set of
information to improve their own lives, communities and critical environmental data sets that can be used to
natural environment. However, citizens are often not monitor progress toward the SDGs, the implementation of
aware of how to access digestible information which allows the Multilateral Environmental Agreements as well as
them to make informed decisions. The effectiveness of a contextual and emerging environmental issues over time.
digital ecosystem for the environment will rely on changing
3) Data availability and quality: establish comprehensive
the way people interact with data and information.
and inter-disciplinary environmental monitoring systems
2) Data feedback: citizens need to be engaged in both (including citizen science, earth observations and
accessing data and contributing data to national and global traditional data collection as well as global data products)
data ecosystems. Operational, real time mechanisms for to improve data availability timeliness, comparability,
citizens to contribute information including data collection geospatial coverage and quality of critical environmental
and usability comments should be readily available. data sets.

3) Organisational support: citizen science organisations 4) Data capability: support the development of a national
and other community-based organisations must use data environment information system in the cloud to bring data
and insights to demonstrate gaps in terms of from ministries, localities and non-governmental and
environmental protection, pollution and environmental private sector organisations together in a way that

27
promotes interoperability, spatial referencing, quality, 4) Global public goods: where technology firms and other
integrity and terms of use. private sector actors offer global public good platforms, the
underlying business model should be disclosed so that
5) Open data and open software: ensure fair, and where
public sector users fully understand the terms of use, risks,
possible, open electronic access to environmental data and
dependencies and trade-offs.
the infrastructure needed for analysis, visualisation and
communications. Open source software solutions for the 5) Data capability: design commercial ecosystems that are
aggregation, analysis, visualisation and communication of fully inter-operable with other private and public
environmental data may have additional value for ecosystems as well as open source software where data
dissemination of data and information. can flow freely and not be restricted to a proprietary
format.
6) Data sharing technology: engage community
organisations, municipalities and sub-national stakeholders 6) Revenue sharing: explore ways for revenue sharing
in the collection and analysis for environmental data, when public sector data is used to generate private sector
including through utilising technologies and apps for profits. For example, if public sector data is used to train AI
sharing data and scientific discoveries (e.g. citizen science algorithms or public in-situ data is used to verify
applications). commercial earth observation data,

7) Data integration: enhance integrated use and analysis of 7) Technology sharing: identify mechanisms where
environmental data from various sources (smart devices, technological advancements and technical expertise in the
mobile applications, environmental monitoring and private sector can be shared with the public sector.
research) as well as timeseries data (both statistical and
The UN can play a role to incubate and develop a global
geospatial).
digital ecosystem:
8) Statistical data standards: use existing statistical
1) Convening stakeholders and developing consensus:
standards such as the Framework for the Development of
convening governments, private sector organizations, non-
Environment Statistics, the System of Environmental
governmental, citizen science and community-based
Economic Accounting and SDG methodologies.
organizations, academia and other stakeholders to develop
9) Geospatial data standards: employ common data consensus and encourage commitments around data
standards, where possible, such as SDMX, W3C, ISO and sharing, data privacy, data use, ethics and values
OGC processes, as well as the existing open geospatial frameworks and principles and other elements of a digital
standards for Earth observations and emerging work on the ecosystem for the environment.
SpatioTemporal Asset Catalog (STAC), the Open Data Cube
2) Sharing best practices and experiences: propose and
(ODC) and the interfaces to share Analysis Ready Data
share technological solutions for the use of environmental
(ARD).
data in ways that allow countries to produce results that
Private sector contribution and data sharing inform the targets established in the Sustainable
Development Goals and the Multilateral Environmental
1) Data reporting: ensure that corporate sustainability
Agreements, based on national circumstances and on the
reporting of technology firms mechanisms provide a
countries own expertise.
framework for monitoring the impact of companies toward
SDGs. This can be connected to the work of the Global 3) Data analysis and visualization: identify priorities in
Reporting Initiative. terms of developing insights for environmental priorities
and emerging environmental issues and form partnerships
2) Training: promote a culture of sustainability and valuing
to ensure that priorities are kept under review. This
the environment, including through rolling out new training
includes providing access to data and data visualisation, for
programmes for global ethics and value frameworks. This
example the World Environment Situation Room powered
should include training on how to understand and use data
by MapX is UN Environment’s initiative for ensuring that
for sustainability and environmental valuation.
key environmental data and insights can be visualised and
3) Global data sharing: a new social contract between accessed in an integrated manner (spatial and statistical
companies, governments and citizens is required where data) (UNEP 2019).
mutual obligations and responsibilities are spelled out. The
4) Data standards: promote open data and open source
cost of doing business anywhere in the world should be the
tools, including through implementing open data policies
release of relevant non-commercial data that can be used
within the UN System and supporting the development of
to measure SDG progress.

28
open source tools for accessing and visualising data, information on specific SDG issues will be more time-
including geospatial data, such as MapX. sensitive than before. Additionally, data may be used to
identify potential issues in terms of potential social and
5) Capacity building: create a strategy for addressing
environmental impact.
capacity gaps in collaboration with other
intergovernmental organisations and donors, including 4) Applications of data: define, document and share use
through ensuring that collecting and using environmental cases and market applications of a digital ecosystem of
data is integrated within the UN Common Country environmental data, analytics and insights through creating
Assessments (CCA) and UN Development Assistance market places for matching demand and supply, problem
Frameworks (UNDAF) which guide the work of the UN at and solution in the environmental space. Current data to
the national level. In particular, the country offices of UNDP update economic trends in real time can change the cycle
could be leveraged for capacity building on data collection of reactive policies and revolutionise economic analysis.
and use.

6) Promote data use in international planning and policy:

align the programme of work of UN Environment, as the
UN entity responsible for the environmental dimension of
sustainable development, with priority needs identified
through leveraging best available statistical and spatial data
in planning, policy-making and impact monitoring.

7) Data integration across the UN: need to connect

different UN ecosystems and to leverage these in support
of national level analysis, prioritisation, planning and
monitoring within the CCA/UNDAF

8) Open data funding: finance open data, open source

software, and open algorithms that contribute to a set of
global public goods.

Innovative partnerships are the foundation for a global

digital ecosystem for the environment:

1) Data standards for the global public good: the overall

outcome of these partnerships should be increased
accessibility and use of environmental data that are
established on a planetary level as a global public good.

2) Data integration from across the public and private

sector: the UN is in a position to collaborate with a broad
range of data providers to bring data into a global digital
ecosystem for the environment. By providing access to
data, progress towards achieving Agenda 2030 is
complemented by full environmental transparency. In
addition to global and national level data, environmental
performance data is routinely disclosed by private sector
operators across different sectors, embedding
environmental considerations within the responsible
sourcing of natural resources and facilitating access to
information for consumers.

3) Using data and insights to encourage partnerships

toward achieving the SDGs: public-private partnerships
that seek to solve specific problems linked to SDGs
informed by current data. These specific problems can be
continually updated with continually updating data –

29
 Annex I: Stakeholders consulted

Organization
Accenture London
ADEC Innovations
African Academy
AfroChampions
Agence Française De Développement
African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN)
Argonne National Laboratory
Belmont Forum Secretariat
Bottle Dream
Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)
Climate & Clean Air Coalition
Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES)
Commissariat à l’Energie Atomique (CEA)
Conseil Présidentiel pour l'Afrique
Dataiku, AI Labs
Descartes Labs
Dream, Tunisia
Earth Genome
Ecosphere Capital Limited
ENEL
Estonia Ministry of Environment
EU Joint Research Centre (JRC)
European Commission
European Space Agency
French Ministry for Europe and Foreign affairs
French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development/ IRD
GE Renewable Energy
Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Secretariat
Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

Google Earth Engine

UNEP GRID-Geneva
IBM
INRA
Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP)
Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, CAS
Inter-American Institute
International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
International Fertilizer Association
International Institute for Research and Development
International Science Council
International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD)
30
MapX
Ministère de la Transition écologique et solidaire
Ministry of Artificial Intelligence, UAE
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, France
MyHeat / University of Calgary
NASA Ames Laboratory for Advanced Sensing
Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation (LDF)
Planet Labs
Plast'if
Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC)
Qwant
Resallience/ Vinci
Secretariat of the International Resource Panel (IRP)
SFR Racines
SNCF
Soarability Technologies
Society of Entrepreneurs for Ecology (SEE) Foundation
SolarKiosk
Startupbrics
The Economic Times
The Foundation for Research on Biodiversity
The Future Society
Thomson Reuters Corporation
Triton Foodworks
UN Development Programme (UNDP)
UN Environment (UNEP)
UN Global Pulse Labs
Université Paris Dauphine et CNRS
University of California, Berkeley
University of Edinburgh
Utrecht University
Vice President for Veterinary Medicine and Natural Sciences, Professor in Remote Sensing
Wild Immersion
World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
World Conservation Monitoring Center (WCMC)
World Economic Forum (WEF)
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University (XJTLU)
X-Prize

31
 Annex II: Platforms hosting environmental data, algorithms and insights reviewed

Theme Name Website Organization Powered by

Multi- Google Earth https://earthengine.google.com/ Google Google Earth
thematic Engine Engine

Environmental https://environmentlive.unep.org/situation UNEP MapX

Situation
Room
Resource https://resourcewatch.org/ WRI Google Earth

Trends.Earth http://trends.earth/docs/en/index.html Conservation via QGIS desktop

International application
UN Global https://www.officialstatistics.org/ UN /
Platform for
Official
Statistics
UN Spatial http://www.unsdi.nl/ UN /
Data
Infrastructure
initiative
(UNSDI)
Future Earth http://medialab.futureearth.org/ Future Earth, (Anthropocene:
Globaïa and Google)
the
International
Council for
Science
Earth Map https://earthmapdemo.info FAO Google Earth
Engine
Open Foris / http://www.openforis.org/tools/collect-earth.html FAO Google Earth
Collect Earth Engine
CASEarth (Big http://www.casearth.com/ Chinese /
Earth Data Academy of
Platform) Sciences
Earth Explorer https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/ USGS Google
SDG Data Hub http://www.sdg.org/ UN ESRI
Global Pulse https://www.unglobalpulse.org/pulse-labs UN /
Labs
MapX https://www.mapx.org UN MapX
Climate ClimateSeed https://www.climateseed.com/ /
Space Climte https://www.spaceclimateobservatory.org/ CNRS, Meteo /
Observatory France, IRD,
CNES,
Chinese
Space
Agency,
Marroco
Space Agency
Copernicus https://climate.copernicus.eu/ EC, /
climate data Copernicus,
store ECMWF
Moja https://moja.global/ Linux /
fundation
Climate http://climateengine.org/ University of Google
engine Idaho, DRI,
Google Earth
Engine
VAMPIRE http://pulselabjakarta.id/vampire/ WFP, FAO Carto DB

32
Water SDG 661 https://www.sdg661.app UNEP, Google Google
(Surface Earth Engine,
Water JRC
Monitoring)
Gobal Surface https://global-surface-water.appspot.com/ Google Earth Google
Water Engine, JRC
Explorer
Flood and http://www.flooddroughtmonitor.com/home UNEP and Google
Drought DHI
Monitor
Transboundar http://twap-rivers.org/indicators/ UNEP Open Geosuite
y Waters
Assessment
Programme
Water Peace https://www.un-ihe.org/water-peace-and-security-partnership UNESCO /
and Security
Partnership
Forests Global Forest https://www.globalforestwatch.org/ WRI Google
Watch
Global Forest http://www.fao.org/forestry/en/ FAO Open Geosuite
Resources
Assessment
IMPACT Tool https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/fpfis/mwikis/impacttoolbox/ JRC Google
Box index.php/Impact_Toolbox_User_Guide
Biodiversity Global https://www.gbif.org/ network of MapBox
Biodiversity research
Information centers
Facility (GBIF)
Biodiversity http://bipdashboard.natureserve.org/bip/SelectCountry.html Consortium ESRI
Indicators of various
Partnership organization
(BIP)
UN https://www.unbiodiversitylab.org/ UNEP, UNDP MapX
Biodiversity
Lab
NatureMap Under Development Norway's /
Project International
Climate and
Forests
Initiative
IUCN Red List https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/spatial-data-download IUCN ESRI
of Threatened
Species
IUCN Red List https://iucnrle.org/ IUCN /
of Ecosystems
Map of Life https://mol.org/ Yale Google
(MOL) University
Protected Protected https://www.protectedplanet.net/ UNEP WCMC MapBox
Areas Planet
Digital https://dopa-explorer.jrc.ec.europa.eu/dopa_explorer EU JRC Open GeoSuite
Observatory
for Protected
Areas (DOPA)
Natural Global Risk https://preview.grid.unep.ch/ UNEP GRID / Open GeoSuite
Hazards Data Platform UNISDR
(PREVIEW)
ECO-DRR Under development UNEP MapX
Opportunity
Mapping
Chemicals Global Under development UNEP MapX
Chemicals
Observatory
Marine Global Fishing https://globalfishingwatch.org/ WRI Google Earth
Watch Engine
Global Ocean http://www.goosocean.org/ IOC- /
Observing UNESCO’s
System

33
Earth Sentinal https://apps.sentinel-hub.com/eo-browser/ EU Open GeoSuite
Observatio
n
Planet https://www.planet.com/ Planet Labs /
Landsat https://landlook.usgs.gov/viewer.html US ESRI
GEOSS http://www.geoportal.org/ GEO Various: Open
GeoSuite, ESRI,
Carto, Mapbox
Satelligence https://satelligence.com/ Satelligence /
Descartes Labs https://www.descarteslabs.com/ Descartes Descartes Lab
Labs
Earth on AWS https://aws.amazon.com/earth/ Amazon Web AWS
Services
Geospatial Big https://www.digitalglobe.com/platforms/gbdx Digital Globe AWS
Data Platform
(GDBX)
Radiant Earth https://www.radiant.earth/ Radiant Earth /
Open Data https://www.opendatacube.org/ Open Data /

Earth now https://earthnow.com/ Earth Now /

Earth Genome https://www.earthgenome.org/ Earth ESRI, Planet Lab

Genome

TERRSET https://clarklabs.org/terrset/ ClarkLabs Google? to be

confirmed
Copernicus https://scihub.copernicus.eu/dhus/#/home Open GeoSuite
Open Access
Hub
AI Artifical http://aries.integratedmodelling.org/ University of separate software
Intelligence Vermont, (k.Lab)
for Ecosystem Earth
Services Economics,
Conservation
International
AI for Earth https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/ai/ai-for-earth Microsoft ESRI and AZURE
IBM Green https://www.research.ibm.com/green-horizons/interactive/ IBM /
Horizons
Picterra https://picterra.ch/ Picterra /

34
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