A global biodiversity use data infrastructure acknowledging indigenous and local knowledge

2026/02/25 by Cristiane Julião Pankararu, Irene Teixidor-Toneu, Guillaume Odonne +40 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Ethnobotanical and Medicinal Plants Studies #Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Agriculture #Species Distribution and Climate Change

paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s44185-026-00121-0

openalex created_date 2026/02/25 · openalex publication_date 2026/02/25 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31

Abstract

Many global biodiversity datasets overlook or misrepresent the knowledge of Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities, and Afro-Descendants (IPLCAD). We propose minimum data and metadata standards for a global data infrastructure on biodiversity knowledge and use, co-designed with IPLCAD, including information on language, community attribution and consent, to ensure data traceability and ethical use. This initiative integrates ancestral and academic sciences to advance inclusive biodiversity governance, addressing historical inequities for global sustainability.

Citations

• Bringing access and benefit sharing into the digital age
• Scientists' Warning to Humanity on Threats to Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems
• Ethnobiology Phase VI: Decolonizing Institutions, Projects, and Scholarship
• Repositories of biocultural diversity: Toward best practices for empowering ethnobotany in digital herbaria
• Governance of Indigenous data in open earth systems science
• The contributions of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to ecological restoration
• ‘Accountability’: An Ever‐Expanding Concept?
• Weaving Indigenous and sustainability sciences to diversify our methods

Discussions

• Our latest article in #njpbiodiversity urges for global biodiversity data infrastru that meaningfully includes Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities & Afro-Descendants. We call for decentralized sys [bsky, 1 points, 1 comments]

Related

• From data to decisions: Toward a Biodiversity Monitoring Standards Framework
• Experiences from national biodiversity data infrastructures in Europe: advancing data integration and community engagement
• National biodiversity data infrastructures: ten essential functions for science, policy, and practice
• Making room for meaningful inclusion of Indigenous and local knowledge in global assessments: our experiences in the values assessment of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
• The next stage of biodiversity informatics: community-driven synthesis and integration of biodiversity databases