Beyond Global Data Festival 2026: Building Environmental Data Ecosystems Rooted in Trust, Stewardship, and Sustainability.

Why does so much environmental data circulate globally, yet remain underused, mistrusted, or disconnected from local realities?  This question sat at the heart of the session “Building Ecosystems for Environmental Data Use: Trust, Stewardship, and Sustainability,” convened by Climate Sensitive Infectious Disease Network (CSIDNet), Sustainable Infrastructure for Local Talent (SILT) and  Research and Innovation for Climate Hub, during the Global Data Festival 2026 in Nairobi.

 Bringing together researchers, policymakers, civil society actors, and data practitioners, the session challenged participants to look beyond data availability and explore the relationships, governance structures, and incentives needed to make environmental data not only available but also relevant, trustworthy and durable.

Environmental Data Wishlist: What’s Missing and What’s Needed

As participants mapped the environmental data they produce and steward, the room re-echoed  that we do have environmental data, but what’s missing is how we connect these diverse sources into ecosystems that communities, researchers, and policymakers can trust and use. 

Contributions ranged from atmospheric observations such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, microwave radiometry, and radar data to natural capital datasets, forest monitoring models, daily water forecasts, and localized weather information. Additionally, there were shared experiences in generating ground-truth agricultural data through field engagement and citizen-generated datasets that capture gendered dimensions of environmental change. 

Building on this foundation, participants articulated a shared data wishlist that points toward more integrated, actionable climate intelligence systems. Signaling a prioritization on climate data systems that are not only technically advanced, but also integrated, transparent, and grounded in real-world needs.

At the centre of this wishlist was a demand for better environmental measurement and forecasting tools. This includes advanced technologies such as LiDAR for wind monitoring, more reliable weather forecasting systems, and robust multi-hazard early warning information. Alongside this was an  emphasis on climate governance and accountability. Participants called for objective measures of climate policy adoption, clearer visibility on who is implementing climate commitments, and  mechanisms for public oversight. Closely linked to this was a  need for greater transparency in climate finance—tracking who is receiving and adapting funds, how resources are being used, and whether financial commitments translate into tangible action.

Participants also emphasized the importance of intersectional environmental data that connects environmental, social, and economic realities. This includes localized market price data and linked datasets that bring together weather, climate, health, and socio-economic information to better understand how environmental changes affect livelihoods, food systems, and public health. Such integrated approaches can support earlier detection of cascading risks while also making visible the differentiated impacts of climate and environmental challenges across gender, geography, and other social dimensions. Participants stressed that understanding vulnerability and resilience requires data that reflects lived realities and local contexts, rather than relying on broad averages that often obscure inequalities.

Taken together, the Environmental Data Wishlist set the stage for a powerful provocation from Dr. Angela Okune of CSIDNET: “Data is not fish.” She challenged participants to recognize that data cannot simply be released and expected to “swim off” and generate impact on its own. Like any shared resource, data requires ongoing care, maintenance, governance, and stewardship. The question, she argued, is not only who produces data, but also who is responsible for sustaining it after it is released.

Who Benefits, Who Decides, and Who Is Left Out: Reimagining Environmental Data Ecosystems

The session speakers emphasized that environmental data systems are not only technical infrastructures but also social and governance systems that depend on trust, equity, and long-term sustainability. Drawing on experiences from AfriClimate AI, Dr. Rendani Mbuvha highlighted that most climate and weather forecasting models are trained on datasets that fail to reflect African realities, resulting in forecasts that often miss local contexts and needs. He noted however, that limited infrastructure, unequal access to computing resources, and low trust in data-sharing arrangements continue to hinder the development of effective climate intelligence systems. Building sustainable environmental data ecosystems therefore requires investment in locally generated data, stronger observation networks, and transparent practices that inspire confidence among data users.

The conversation also centered on equity and the distribution of benefits from environmental data. Mark Irura, from the Research & Innovation For Climate Hub, challenged participants to consider whether communities that generate valuable environmental information are meaningfully benefiting from it. Farmers, women, Indigenous communities, and other frontline groups frequently contribute knowledge and data that shape research and policy, yet they are often excluded from decision-making and from accessing the insights produced. He argued that communities should be treated as knowledge partners rather than merely sources of data, with greater agency over how their information is collected, governed, and used.

Looking beyond local contexts, Leonida Mutuku of the Research & Innovation for Climate Hub, connected the discussion to emerging global conversations on environmental data governance and the environmental sustainability of artificial intelligence systems. Referencing the United Nations Environment Assembly Resolution on the Environmental Sustainability of Artificial Intelligence Systems (UNEP/EA.7/Res.9), she highlighted the growing international recognition of the need to improve the quality, accessibility, and interoperability of environmental data while safeguarding privacy and data protection. The resolution also calls for strengthening national environmental data systems in developing countries to help address persistent digital and data divides. Against this backdrop, Leonida underscored the importance of governance frameworks that protect community interests, promote transparency and accountability, and ensure that locally generated evidence can meaningfully inform policy and decision-making. Ultimately, she argued, effective environmental data ecosystems can only be built when trust, equity, and meaningful participation are embedded throughout the entire data value chain.

Way Forward: Beyond Global Data Festival 2026

The conversations sparked during the session, “Building Ecosystems for Environmental Data Use: Trust, Stewardship, and Sustainability,” may have begun at #DataFest2026, but participants were clear that the work does not end there. A shared understanding emerged that building trusted, equitable, and sustainable environmental data ecosystems requires moving beyond the collection and publication of data toward its long-term stewardship. This shift calls for sustained investment in relationships, governance, and collaboration, alongside the technical systems that support data use. With this in mind, participants identified several key priorities for advancing the agenda and ensuring that environmental data creates lasting value for both communities and decision-makers.

First, environmental data initiatives must be designed with communities, not just for them. This means creating participatory processes that involve local actors in data collection, validation, governance, and decision-making. Building trust will require greater transparency about how data is used, who benefits from it, and how contributors retain agency over the knowledge they provide.

Second, participants called for investment in locally relevant data infrastructure, observation networks, and interoperable systems that can connect fragmented datasets across sectors and scales. Strengthening data governance frameworks will be critical to ensuring that local evidence and indigenous knowledge can inform national, regional, and global policy processes while protecting community interests.

Finally, sustainability must be approached as both a technical and relational challenge. Long-term success will depend not only on funding, but also on strong institutions, supportive policy environments, common standards, and enduring partnerships that foster collaboration and accountability over time.

As climate and environmental challenges become increasingly complex, participants agreed that no single institution can address them alone. The path forward lies in collective stewardship, creating data ecosystems that are trusted by communities, equitable in the distribution of benefits, and sustainable enough to generate lasting public value. If open data defined the last decade, stewardship may well define the next.