New publication. Conservation data infrastructures: from carbon accounting to multiple biodiversity and social measures

A new paper from CSIRO researchers assesses how data can influence the measurement of conservation success. 

An increasing number of sustainability initiatives are adopting data-driven assessments to inform the effectiveness of climate and biodiversity investment efforts in achieving goals like carbon emissions reduction.

At the recent COP29 conference in Azerbaijan, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell recognised the first countries to submit Biennial Transparency reports under the Paris Agreement, noting that the reports play a key role in: “Enabling data-driven responses that build resilience and protect vulnerable populations by identifying risks and vulnerabilities, and leading to better resource allocation”.

However, data-driven solutions alone may not bring about the transformative changes required to fully address disparities in environmental outcomes and priorities. Thoughtful design of the programs and policy settings that technologies operate within is equally important to bring about positive outcomes.

Conservation data justice debates

In recent years, international discussions on data justice have increasingly focused on how datasets influence conservation science and practices. Researchers are exploring the implications of data-driven decision-making in shaping conservation priorities, impacts, and outcomes across sites and applications.

Earlier this year, CSIRO researcher Dr Danilo Urzedo had the opportunity to contribute to these debates at the inaugural Conservation Data Justice Symposium, where he presented an early version of a paper that has now been published in People and Nature.

The event was part of the European Research Council-funded Conservation Data Justice project, led by Professor Dan Brockington at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Dr Urzedo also had the opportunity to spend a week with the research group to discuss approaches to data justice.

“There is a growing engagement with conservation data justice, so our work was one of 18 studies that was presented at the Symposium,” he says. “The group included social scientists, data scientists, ecologists, AI experts, and practitioners working with different dimensions of data-driven conservation in different contexts – including at local and community level”.

An increasing role for data in conservation efforts

The recently published People and Nature paper examines this issue through two case studies – the Amazon Fund in Brazil, and the Land Restoration Fund in Australia. The research explores how both programs have provided innovative ways to enable data-driven approaches to influence what aspects of socio-environmental impacts are valued and how they are measured.

This new research builds on the work done by a team at CSIRO’s Valuing Sustainability FSP on the emerging issue of conservation data justice and generative AI.

Dr Danilo Urzedo explains that “there are several data-driven solutions to tackle socio-environmental pressures the world is facing. But at the same time, the outcomes of technological deployment raise several questions around the bias, limitations and potential harms surrounding decisions. Our paper adds to growing calls to pay attention to the importance of dialogue about how conservation datasets are used to inform investment decisions and project assessments so that place-based values and benefits are not ignored.”

When conservation data become infrastructure

The paper explores a key concept that is getting traction in national and international policy forums: viewing conservation data as a form of infrastructure.

Conservation datasets have often been treated as a set of objective facts and measurements that can be used to inform decision making.

Instead, the report authors propose the value of viewing these as infrastructure. This perspective explicitly recognises data not only as technical elements, but as socio-political processes embedded in power dynamics that shape decisions and practices.

By recognising that conservation datasets are not neutral, the authors of the paper suggest that we can begin to include a broader range of perspectives and local experiences in conservation strategies.

Understanding that data-driven solutions involve complex interactions between people, policies and cultures provides an important starting point to address some of the current limitations, like biases, errors and uncertainties.

“Conservation data justice involves debate and discussion about the limitations of data-driven solutions,” says Dr Urzedo. “But it’s also about tracking sites of opportunity and promoting community participation and democratic decisions that expand the ways we think about technology and data in order to find alternative solutions.”

Innovative data approaches beyond carbon accounting

Building on this lens for understanding conservation data, researchers analysed the data-driven approaches of two carbon program case studies in Australia and Brazil. They examined aspects of social and environmental impacts that are valued within these programs.

In Australia, the AUD $500 million Land Restoration Fund supports carbon farming projects in Queensland that deliver environmental, social and economic benefits.

In Brazil, the Amazon Fund operates as a REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) initiative. Established by the Brazilian Government, it raises donations for non-reimbursable investments in efforts to prevent deforestation and promote sustainable forest management. To date, more than AUD 1.2 billion has been invested in the fund, and 241,000 people have benefited from sustainable forest management projects.

Both funds have expanded their priorities and project assessment criteria to shift from solely carbon-based strategies to multiple biodiversity and social impacts. As these programs – and others – expand their operations to include more diverse benefits, data infrastructures have a key role to play in determining where to allocate investments, how to track outcomes, and how to ensure transparency and credibility beyond carbon. 

For the past two years, CSIRO researchers have been working in partnership with the Land Restoration Fund, exploring how to incorporate social data and community participation in decision-making processes.

“Data-driven technologies are playing a key role in integrating co-benefits into carbon accounting methods,” Dr Urzedo says. But we need to carefully consider new ways to measure, report and invest in meaningful outcomes. The challenge is to create a place-based ‘carbon plus’ mechanism that is transparent and effective in valuing co-benefits. Our research reveals how embedding datasets within appropriate social processes and institutional designs fosters meaningful dialogue by aligning and negotiating diverse needs and values. These considerations reshape investment decisions and project assessments through alternative pathways for just conservation outcomes.”