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Planque, C, Lucas, RM, Clewley, D, Chognard, S, Giuliani, G, Chatenoux, B, Bunting, P, Sanders, A, Punalekar, S, Knowles, H, Sykes, H, Guest, P and Horton, C 2025 National Digital Infrastructure: clustering global open-source solutions for sovereign monitoring of the environment. SSRN Electronic Journal. 10.2139/ssrn.5292171
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Abstract/Summary
The UN General Assembly (2015) emphasized the need for sustainable pathways to en- 52 hance resilience for people and nature, with future development driven by data and evidence. Sus- 53 tainable development frameworks like the UN 2030 Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement high- 54 light the importance of data in decision-making, while respecting national policies and priorities. 55 As Earth observation data and digital solutions advance, they offer more efficient, timely, and de- 56 tailed statistics, with reduced costs. However, concerns about data and technological sovereignty 57 have emerged. This paper introduces a flexible, sovereign national digital infrastructure framework 58 for environmental monitoring, land management, and fulfilling reporting obligations. It combines 59 customizable open-source solutions like the Open Data Cube and Living Earth to ensure data sov- 60 ereignty. The paper demonstrates the framework’s capability in Wales, where it has been success- 61 fully operationalized. We show that the NDI’s structure, flexibility, and interoperability support 62 holistic environmental monitoring and national reporting obligations. By enabling data sharing 63 across organizations, it helps minimize inconsistencies and duplication, while improving transpar- 64 ency, traceability, and reproducibility. The NDI also has potential to foster collaboration between 65 government agencies, environmental organizations, local communities, and stakeholders, support- 66 ing sustainable outcomes and promoting inclusivity in environmental and agricultural policy deci- 67 sion-making
| Item Type: | Publication - Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Keywords: | Digital Infrastructure, Earth Observations, sovereignty, monitoring, reporting, transparency |
| Divisions: | Plymouth Marine Laboratory > Science Areas > Environmental Intelligence |
| Depositing User: | S Hawkins |
| Date made live: | 22 Jan 2026 11:30 |
| Last Modified: | 22 Jan 2026 11:30 |
| URI: | https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/10551 |
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