TWN Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (May25/02)
2 May 2025
Third World Network

UNEP: DEVELOPING COUNTRIES STRESS MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION FOR GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL DATA STRATEGY

New Delhi, May 2 (Radhika Chatterjee): Countries shared their views on the draft document on ‘Global Environmental Data Strategy (GEDS)’ of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). Their views on the draft were presented at a subcommittee meeting of the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) held in April 17, 2025 in hybrid mode. The GEDS is scheduled to be finalised and considered at UNEA-7 in December 2025.

[The five pillars identified in the GEDS draft strategy document are: data governance, data quality and provenance, interoperability, accessibility and affordability, and capacity building. UNEP was given a mandate for developing the GEDS through the ministerial declaration adopted in UNEA-4 held in 2019 and resolution 4/23.]

Developing countries like Brazil and Morocco highlighted the importance of means of implementation for making GEDS a reality and stressed the importance of recognizing national sovereignty as the foundation for data governance.

Developed countries/groupings like the European Union [EU], Spain, and France emphasized the need for making a distinction between national and international levels in the strategy document and asked for the document to focus more on operationalizing GEDS in the next draft.

Other items on the agenda of this meeting included briefings on the status of the Seventh edition of the Global Environmental Outlook report (GEO-7), and review of UNEP’s thematic programmes on ‘Science and Transparency’ and ‘Conservation, Restoration, and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity’. The Science and Transparency programme is focused on UNEP’s work in supporting countries for implementing Article 13 of the Paris Agreement (which relates to the Enhanced Transparency Framework), while the Conservation, Restoration and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity programme focuses on UNEP’s work in supporting countries for improving health and resilience of different ecosystems.

Highlights of discussion on the GEDS draft

Brazil highlighted the need for a clear definition of a governance structure of the proposed GEDS platform. It emphasized the need for establishing a dedicated financial mechanism for supporting this platform to help developing countries. It said the GEDS should respect the sovereign prerogative of states and avoid duplication with their national databases. It stressed that this strategy must be supported by effective means of implementation, including adequate financing, technical cooperation, and capacity building, keeping in mind the principle of equity.

It also said it supported recognition of national sovereignty over data as a foundation for digital governance. It highlighted the risks of artificial intelligence in the context of data quality and prominence, and stressed on the risks of reproduction of biased or unbalanced information. It highlighted the need for strengthening national systems and the emphasized on the need for improved financing to support national monitoring and reporting under existing Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs). It said interoperability aspects of GEDS “must not result in institutional overburdening”, especially on well-established national data platforms which are important for administrative efficiency. In the context of data access and affordability, it said adequate financial and institutional support is needed to analyze data anonymously. On capacity building, it said “efforts must be accompanied by appropriate means of implementation” including international financing, technical cooperation and digital tools.

Morocco underlined the existence of “complex challenges” in implementation of digital environmental strategy within the framework of MEAs. It said individual countries may have fragmented data scattered across multiple organizations which could lead to gaps and that there is a need to recognize that in many countries, data systems are not centralized. It highlighted institutional funding and resources as a major challenge in establishing a robust data system and stressed the need for sustainable financing.

It also pointed out that many developing countries lack financial resources to invest in data infrastructure, technology tools and personnel. It said references to the use of artificial intelligence must be accompanied with references to capacity building with respect to its use. Regarding access to digital infrastructure, it stressed the lack of legal and policy frameworks and said it would like the strategy to address data ownership concerns. On the aspect of convening an expert group on interoperability standards, it said national agencies should be part of this group. It also expected to see results and successes of pilot projects related to GEDS.

Mexico suggested that UNEP should continue briefing all regional groups to better respond to national priorities. It said support is necessary for bioinformatic infrastructure and supporting technical capacity. It also suggested consideration of other frameworks like the “SMART framework”. It “encouraged” other states to consider the “clearinghouse mechanism” and that it would engage with the secretariat bilaterally for that.

Kenya said the success of GEDS will depend on strengthening local ecosystems and encouraged the UNEP secretariat to support national institutions.

Chile said the Escazú Agreement should be referred to in the document. It said even though this is only a regional agreement in Latin America about information, public participation and justice, it is also the only binding agreement that came out of the Rio+20 conference.

[Escazú Agreement is a regional agreement on access to information, public participation and justice in environmental matters in Latin America and Caribbean. It was initiated at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in 2012 and adopted in 2018.]

The EU expressed support for the five pillars of the GEDS. It said it is very important to help and support countries to share and access environmental data. It added that data sovereignty should be promoted to produce shared infrastructures. It asked for structural changes in the strategy such that the distinction between the international and national level can be done in a better manner. It said the draft strategy should have an organized roadmap on how UNEP plans to achieve the actions laid out in the strategy document. It also said this strategy will help strengthen international environmental systems.

Spain said the pillar on data governance is critical to advancing the whole GEDS. Speaking in the context of risks related to data colonialism and national barriers in accessing data, it referred to the proposal of a “federated governance model” contained in the GEDS. It added that “developing a federated governance model demands balanced solutions to consolidate contrarian principle of interest such as data sharing versus data sovereignty, protecting individual privacy versus enable data drivers’ innovation, interoperability versus local control, security versus accessibility and so on… We have some federated governance of data systems already in place and with significant success. This is the case of the common European data spaces, in sectors like health, agriculture and mobility that are federated ecosystems where data are shared under standardized rules without centralizing storage. With standards for interoperability like the European Interoperability Framework and ensuring data protection across members states with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the European Government of Protection of Data. There are other international data spaces that are arising in different geographic areas and in some sectors like the Global Alliance for Dynamics and Health, a global initiative to enable responsible sharing of dynamic and clinical data through federated systems which has developed standards and tools to connect distributed databases while maintaining local control.” It asked whether UNEP was considering these models of federated governance systems that exist in the EU for the GEDS.

The United Kingdom said UNEP rightly focused on current levels of fragmented of environmental data governance. It said the observation in the draft strategy of data ecosystems becoming decentralized and there being an increasing capability in the private sector for this is a valid one. It added the GEDS should act as an “enabler for a more level playing field and strengthening data sovereignty.” It asked why the GEDS emphasized on the World Environment Situation Room and asked how it was linked to GEDS. On the risks of data colonialism identified in the strategy, it asked, “to what extent can UNEP devote resources to this task of addressing data colonialism in a rapidly shifting environmental data landscape?”

[World Environment Situation Room is a platform hosted by UNEP. It “is a federated data system of the best openly accessible environmental data, information, and knowledge with adequate analytical capacity, to support decision making, policy setting, and action at the global, regional, national, and local levels for the environment and sustainable development.”]

Germany said that the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) supported the GEDS work. It said there was a need to better understand how the GEDS is embedded in the broader picture of UNEP’s digital transformations work. On the GEDS implementing mechanism, it said having contextualization would help in understanding the implications, requirements, time horizons and so on. It also highlighted the need for identifying priority in terms of which mechanism should be fast forwarded rather than having nine mechanisms.

France said the strategy document should be “made more operational”, and expressed the need for having a five-year action plan. In the context of operationality, it mentioned some examples from national experiences of France like ‘Green data for health’ and said these could be beneficial. It asked for information on funds and resources necessary for implementation of national actions. It also asked for a better distinction between the national and international levels in the strategy.

Switzerland said the focus on comparability and interoperability will ensure environmental data is accessible and usable across regions. Speaking about UNEP’s normative and guiding role, it said UNEP does not have the mandate nor the financial and human resources to drive the integration of data infrastructure at the national level, and that capacity building should primarily be the responsibility of individual countries and private entities. It added that UNEP should provide global standards for implementation by national agencies. It encouraged UNEP to strengthen its collaboration with the UN statistical system to further enhance the GEDS and to “ensure greater consistency and coherence”.

According to the timeline in the GEDS presentation, countries can share their written comments on the GEDS till May end, 2025. The UNEP secretariat is expected to share a second draft of the GEDS in August 2025. The second draft is expected to have a more operational focus, including a distinction between international and national levels. The secretariat also informed that it could conduct meetings with delegations and regional groupings in Nairobi for further discussions on the issues raised at this meeting.

The secretariat also informed that the second order draft of the summary for policymakers (SPM) of GEO-7 will be shared with all governments by August 15, 2025. Review and negotiations of the SPM are scheduled to be in October-November, 2025.