The Case for Nature ID: Unlocking Nature-Positive Incentives with Digital Public Infrastructure (2024)

TheCase for Nature IDroundtable included a diverse range of participants from all key stakeholder groups: Indigenous Peoples, Governments, International Organizations, Community-based NGOs, Private Sector and others.

The objective of the roundtable was to discuss, on the basis of research-led insights and key stakeholder perspectives, the utility, feasibility, risks and challenges involved in developing ‘Nature ID’ as a form of DPI to help address a number of critical hurdles that countries and governments face in scaling action to protect the natural world and meet global biodiversity targets.

The concept of a ‘Nature ID’ is broadly inspired by recent successes in deploying digital ID systems for individual citizens in several countries. The deployment of digital ID systems at population scale, along with other components of DPI such as instant payment systems, has enabled public services to become more widely accessible and accelerated the financial inclusion of previously marginalised and vulnerable sections of society. Taking aninfrastructure approach in this context has enabled biometrics-based digital IDs to serve as a common and interoperable means of verification for citizens and individuals to access and benefit from a wide range of innovative digital services offered by public and private sector entities.

In a similar vein, the ability to monitor and verify the health, identity and value of spatially defined natural assets - in a holistic way - with the help of a digital ‘Nature ID’ system powered by a combination of geospatial, environmental and administrative data could, in theory, unlock a wide range of nature-positive incentives critical to biodiversity conservation at a systemic level, and also safeguard the interests and rights of key stakeholders such as Indigenous Peoples and legally recognised stewards of natural assets.

The roundtable participants discussed the technical, administrative and socio-political dimensions involved in developing the Nature ID concept into a prototype.

Key messages on the purpose, challenges, and opportunities for Nature ID:

• Potential value of Nature ID: participants identified the potential for Nature ID to integrate geospatial and environmental data to monitor ecosystems, unlock biodiversity financing, prevent ecosystem destruction, and promote environmental justice. Participants identified the potential for Nature ID to help build trust, ensure traceability, and enable results-based monitoring.

• The functionality and design of Nature ID should centre nature and reflect ecosystem complexity: Nature ID could serve as a bridge between ecosystems and legal or economic systems. Participants emphasised that ecosystems are both greater and more complex than the sum of their parts and are continuously changing. The design of a nature ID should reflect this complexity across different stages while embedding a minimalist design principle. Participants also emphasised the need to ensure Indigenous Knowledge Systems are reflected in the way Nature ID is designed as digital public infrastructure. Nature ID should therefore reflect the interconnectedness of ecosystems rather than reducing or fragmenting their elements into individual data points, such as carbon or biomass.

• Nature ID should uphold public ownership: participants highlighted the importance of maintaining climate and nature data within the public realm. Additionally, participants recognisedthe concept of ‘public’ must also enshrine the distinct rights and sovereignty of Indigenous Peoples. This distinction must shape the technical, governance, and political dimensions of Nature ID.

• Respect for Indigenous knowledge, interests, and ownership: Participants stressed that Nature ID must respect Indigenous wisdom and ultimately prioritize long-term ecosystem protection as an outcome. Indigenous Peoples’ knowledge, cultural heritage, and ecological expertise should not only inform Nature ID but also ensure that these communities have rights and ownership over the data collected. Indigenous communities must retain sovereignty over their data.

Key messages on the path forward for developing the Nature ID concept:

• Collaborative design: infrastructure like Nature ID must be collaboratively designedwithandforlocal communities, empowering them to contribute data and take ownership of its use. Building relationships between Indigenous Communities, scientists, technologists, governments, civil society, and other stakeholders is crucial to the development of Nature ID. Cross community collaboration could also centre the importance of individual, collective, and spiritual healing for ecosystem stewardship.

• Experimentation and iteration: participants highlighted the need for ongoing experimentation, iteration, and improvement throughout the development and deployment of Nature ID to ensure its long-term success.