Our failure to quantify the value of natural ecosystems has rendered them effectively invisible, leading to unchecked exploitation and destruction. Assigning digital IDs to these critical ecosystems could be a game changer, shielding them from abuse and ushering in a new era of climate accountability.
NEW YORK – During my 35-year career in environmental conservation, I have come to realize that today’s planetary crisis is driven not just by destruction and neglect but also by something more profound: our economic systems’ blindness to nature’s value.
As governments chase GDP growth and companies seek to maximize profits, they fail to account for the vast ecosystems that sustain our economies, societies, and personal well-being. We manage what we measure, and because ecosystem services don’t appear on balance sheets, they are effectively invisible, even as the implications – exploitation of natural resources, habitat destruction, and pollution of our air, land, water, and ocean – stare us in the face.
The consequences of remaining on our current path are well-documented. The World Bank warns that the collapse of just a few critical ecosystem services, such as wild pollination and marine fisheries, could shrink global GDP by $2.7 trillion annually by 2030.
How can we make nature more visible and integral to our decision-making? The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures represents an important first step. By providing financial institutions and corporations with the tools to assess their dependence and impact on natural ecosystems, the initiative encourages and enables them to shift financial flows toward nature-positive investments.
Quantifying these relationships is no easy feat. But digital nature IDs offer a promising solution. Much like personal IDs enable citizens to exercise their rights, receive government benefits, access banking services, and take legal action, a digital nature ID could help establish essential environmental metrics to account for the ecosystems supporting human development.
A person without an ID risks invisibility in modern society. The same is true for nature. Assigning secure IDs to natural ecosystems could shield them from unchecked exploitation. For example, a forested watershed could have an ID storing information about its geographical characteristics, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, along with the measurable benefits it provides to local communities and even distant populations downstream. By quantifying these benefits, we could make it harder for businesses or individuals to disregard or harm nature. No longer invisible, nature’s value would be profiled, legally recognized, and far more difficult to exploit.
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With digitalization revolutionizing ID systems, our ability to identify, track, and measure has reached levels that once seemed unimaginable. Aadhaar – India’s biometric, data-driven digital ID system – is a prime example. By enabling instant identity verification, Aadhaar has provided more than one billion people access to a range of public services and social programs. Likewise, digital public infrastructure for sustainable development already assigns unique identifiers to physical structures like roads and bridges, underscoring their economic value.
A similar approach could be applied to nature. With the rapid development of mobile technologies, a digital nature ID can integrate digital tagging, remote sensing, and sensor data for real-time monitoring of natural ecosystems. AI could further enhance these systems, making environmental data more accessible and actionable. Imagine a geo-tagged data parcel, overlaid with key ecological features and environmental health indicators, offering a holistic, living snapshot of a specific ecosystem. An early iteration of this concept is the ability to track supply chains to ensure that your cup of coffee is deforestation-free.
By integrating administrative, environmental, and geographic data, digital nature IDs could pave the way for scaling results-based payment schemes, providing fair compensation to those who protect carbon-absorbing rainforests, mangroves, and other vital ecosystems. They could also enhance the traceability of raw materials in agricultural supply chains and empower land-rights holders by improving access to biodiversity credits, green bonds, and loans tied to sustainable stewardship. Moreover, such a system could bolster legal protections for indigenous and local communities by incorporating clear, location-specific records.
But the development of a digital nature ID must be a whole-of-society effort, underpinned by the principles of inclusion and collaboration. Its design should reflect the concerns of all stakeholders, so that it serves as a public good that drives nature-positive action at scale. Above all, it must uphold the rights, welfare, and value systems of indigenous peoples and local communities, ensuring that they retain control over data related to their lands, resources, and way of life.
To succeed, a digital nature ID system must be integrated with existing digital infrastructure, allowing countries to adapt and refine it to fit their unique socioeconomic and environmental realities. Strong laws and policies promoting data sharing, standardization, and certification would be necessary to promote interoperability and protect against misuse.
At scale, a digital nature ID could become a transformative tool for accounting for the value of our planet’s natural resources and contributions to humanity. By recognizing and quantifying the ways nature enables our societies and economies to survive and thrive, we can usher in a new era of environmental accountability.
The United Nations Development Programme, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation and other partners, has been developing the concept of digital nature IDs as a digital public infrastructure through research and consultations with indigenous peoples, governments, NGOs, and the private sector. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the funders or partners.
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Ukraine’s immense industrial and human resources once helped make the Soviet Union a global power, and Russian President Vladimir Putin is counting on them to achieve his neo-imperialist dream. With the US now behaving like a Kremlin proxy, supporting Ukraine has become an existential imperative for Europe.
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says the Trump administration's Oval Office fight with Ukraine's president is a moment that will live in infamy.
NEW YORK – During my 35-year career in environmental conservation, I have come to realize that today’s planetary crisis is driven not just by destruction and neglect but also by something more profound: our economic systems’ blindness to nature’s value.
As governments chase GDP growth and companies seek to maximize profits, they fail to account for the vast ecosystems that sustain our economies, societies, and personal well-being. We manage what we measure, and because ecosystem services don’t appear on balance sheets, they are effectively invisible, even as the implications – exploitation of natural resources, habitat destruction, and pollution of our air, land, water, and ocean – stare us in the face.
The consequences of remaining on our current path are well-documented. The World Bank warns that the collapse of just a few critical ecosystem services, such as wild pollination and marine fisheries, could shrink global GDP by $2.7 trillion annually by 2030.
How can we make nature more visible and integral to our decision-making? The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures represents an important first step. By providing financial institutions and corporations with the tools to assess their dependence and impact on natural ecosystems, the initiative encourages and enables them to shift financial flows toward nature-positive investments.
Quantifying these relationships is no easy feat. But digital nature IDs offer a promising solution. Much like personal IDs enable citizens to exercise their rights, receive government benefits, access banking services, and take legal action, a digital nature ID could help establish essential environmental metrics to account for the ecosystems supporting human development.
A person without an ID risks invisibility in modern society. The same is true for nature. Assigning secure IDs to natural ecosystems could shield them from unchecked exploitation. For example, a forested watershed could have an ID storing information about its geographical characteristics, biodiversity, and ecosystem services, along with the measurable benefits it provides to local communities and even distant populations downstream. By quantifying these benefits, we could make it harder for businesses or individuals to disregard or harm nature. No longer invisible, nature’s value would be profiled, legally recognized, and far more difficult to exploit.
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At a time of escalating global turmoil, there is an urgent need for incisive, informed analysis of the issues and questions driving the news – just what PS has always provided.
Subscribe to Digital or Digital Plus now to secure your discount.
Subscribe Now
With digitalization revolutionizing ID systems, our ability to identify, track, and measure has reached levels that once seemed unimaginable. Aadhaar – India’s biometric, data-driven digital ID system – is a prime example. By enabling instant identity verification, Aadhaar has provided more than one billion people access to a range of public services and social programs. Likewise, digital public infrastructure for sustainable development already assigns unique identifiers to physical structures like roads and bridges, underscoring their economic value.
A similar approach could be applied to nature. With the rapid development of mobile technologies, a digital nature ID can integrate digital tagging, remote sensing, and sensor data for real-time monitoring of natural ecosystems. AI could further enhance these systems, making environmental data more accessible and actionable. Imagine a geo-tagged data parcel, overlaid with key ecological features and environmental health indicators, offering a holistic, living snapshot of a specific ecosystem. An early iteration of this concept is the ability to track supply chains to ensure that your cup of coffee is deforestation-free.
By integrating administrative, environmental, and geographic data, digital nature IDs could pave the way for scaling results-based payment schemes, providing fair compensation to those who protect carbon-absorbing rainforests, mangroves, and other vital ecosystems. They could also enhance the traceability of raw materials in agricultural supply chains and empower land-rights holders by improving access to biodiversity credits, green bonds, and loans tied to sustainable stewardship. Moreover, such a system could bolster legal protections for indigenous and local communities by incorporating clear, location-specific records.
But the development of a digital nature ID must be a whole-of-society effort, underpinned by the principles of inclusion and collaboration. Its design should reflect the concerns of all stakeholders, so that it serves as a public good that drives nature-positive action at scale. Above all, it must uphold the rights, welfare, and value systems of indigenous peoples and local communities, ensuring that they retain control over data related to their lands, resources, and way of life.
To succeed, a digital nature ID system must be integrated with existing digital infrastructure, allowing countries to adapt and refine it to fit their unique socioeconomic and environmental realities. Strong laws and policies promoting data sharing, standardization, and certification would be necessary to promote interoperability and protect against misuse.
At scale, a digital nature ID could become a transformative tool for accounting for the value of our planet’s natural resources and contributions to humanity. By recognizing and quantifying the ways nature enables our societies and economies to survive and thrive, we can usher in a new era of environmental accountability.
The United Nations Development Programme, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation and other partners, has been developing the concept of digital nature IDs as a digital public infrastructure through research and consultations with indigenous peoples, governments, NGOs, and the private sector. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the funders or partners.