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Taskscape Associates

Data Sovereignty in Community-Based Environmental Monitoring

FRAMEwork supported paper in Bioscience...





We’re delighted to share a new paper, co-authored by Finn Danielson from consortium partner NORDECO, in this month’s issue of  Bioscience. 


The paper highlights a key challenge linked to community-based environmental monitoring - ensuring Indigenous peoples maintain control over their knowledge and data. 


The authors first emphasise the vital role that Indigenous peoples and local communities can play in monitoring environmental health, biodiversity, and land-use changes. They describe how these communities are now able to use digital tools to expand the scope of their existing traditional knowledge systems and make impactful contributions to monitoring, helping to inform local decision-making and global environmental governance.


However, challenges remain, particularly regarding data sovereignty: 


“Given the historical power imbalances between knowledge systems, most written documents using or referring to Indigenous data do not explicitly address Indigenous peoples’ sovereignty over information, often resulting in misrepresentation, or mistreatment of Indigenous knowledge holders’ contributions, and limited opportunities for benefit sharing.”


The paper advocates for respecting Indigenous peoples’ rights, drawing attention to the importance of culturally respectful and equitable community-based monitoring.



BioScience is a peer-reviewed, monthly journal published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). It features research articles, reviews, and essays that cover a wide range of biological disciplines, including ecology, evolution, genetics, and environmental science. The journal aims to provide comprehensive overviews of current biological research and policy issues, catering to both researchers and educators. BioScience is known for its interdisciplinary approach, connecting scientific discoveries with broader societal and environmental implications. It serves as a key resource for the latest developments and trends in the biological sciences.

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