How Funding Open Source Data Can Help Save the Ocean and Mitigate Climate Change

The ocean is the single most important lifeline for addressing the climate crisis. And that’s not hyperbole. It absorbs 90 percent of the excess heat caused by emissions from industrial activities, which are expected to double by 2030. The marine environment is increasingly vulnerable to pollution, and its ability to regulate global climate and weather patterns is weakening. We’re at a critical junction for saving our planet, yet only 8 percent of the ocean is currently protected. 

This October, over 12,000 global experts will arrive in Cali, Colombia, for the United Nation's Biodiversity Conference to revisit the global commitment to ocean protection. Progress will be evaluated in terms of how far we’ve come since December 2022 when over 190 countries adopted a “30x30” target to conserve at least 30 percent of the Earth’s land and water by 2030. This landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework marked the biggest conservation commitment the world has ever seen. 

But when we’re talking about the ocean, it’s hard to know what’s really going on without the technology to see below the surface. Since the ocean is without boundaries and the high seas are managed by everyone and no one, satellite imagery, artificial intelligence, and innovative research techniques are necessary to gain a true picture of what’s actually happening in the vast blue space that covers 70 percent of our planet.  

Fortunately, there’s a rising tide of nonprofit organizations using these cutting-edge data sources to not only analyze threats to the ocean but to make the findings free, easily accessible online and user-friendly. These open-source platforms are revolutionizing our capabilities to monitor what’s happening to our ocean ecosystems and beyond, and empowering governments and local communities to take action.

In February 2023, for example, a fisherman in Indonesia found the waters he fished in daily were polluted by a massive oil spill. There were no boats in sight or clues as to who was responsible. He reached out to the Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative, which accessed an open-source data platform with satellite information that led them to the source.

A stranded tanker had spilled asphalt and polluted 40 miles of the marine environment, resulting in 641 fishermen losing their livelihoods. This information was given to the Ministry of the Environment to hold the polluter accountable. Without that piece of the puzzle, there’s no telling how long it could have taken to execute a response — and identifying the culprit was almost unimaginable. 

Today, a platform like SkyTruth's Cerulean is able to track oil spills and their potential sources in real time, providing global data in the blink of an eye.

Similarly, Global Fishing Watch recently used machine learning to analyze 2 petabytes of imagery — five years’ worth of data — from coastal waters across six continents, producing the first global map of large vessel traffic and offshore infrastructure. It revealed activity that was previously dark to public monitoring systems.

Mermaid is yet another tool using cutting-edge cloud technology to capture a real-time snapshot of the health of coral reefs. 

The best part is that because these platforms are all designed for the greater good, we’re working collaboratively for greater impact. For the first time at this year’s UN Biodiversity Conference, for example, all of the available 30x30 data will be aggregated in one place, the 30x30 Progress Tracker. That way everyone can see — with full transparency — how well the world is doing in enhancing ocean protection. Terrestrial data is also added but is not yet as comprehensive as the marine data.

The platform is intended to be used by civil society campaigns, government agencies, and policymakers to track country-by-country progress, identify where biodiversity protections would be most impactful, and hold governments accountable for promises made. 

When these tools are not behind paywalls or legal privacy privileges, they become reachable to a wider audience, including underserved communities that might otherwise be excluded from decision-making processes. But “free” data is, of course, not actually free. Satellites must be built and launched, data centers developed and maintained, and most importantly,  the findings must be communicated in a way that is understandable and navigable by intended users. All of this requires funding. 

Historically, targeted advocacy efforts were more attractive to funders than supporting the infrastructure behind these campaigns. As Virgil Zetterlind, director of ProtectedSeas, said when describing the development of Navigator, an interactive map of critical marine areas: “Our initial global review of our tool took over eight years. These aren’t small projects, and they don’t result in immediate glossy sound bites or TikTok reels.” Not to mention all of these platforms need to be maintained and constantly updated. 

Sarah Bladen, chief strategy and external affairs officer for Global Fishing Watch had a similar take. “Tech funders believe in the power of tech for good but they’re also looking for something radical and revolutionary," Bladen said. "The question becomes, 'How do you take this excitement for innovation into funding the long trudge of maintaining this type of open data platform and being able to offer it forever?'”

Fortunately, philanthropists are catching on. Funders such as the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative, The Swedish Postcode Lottery Foundation, and the Anthropocene Institute recognize that impactful campaigns are turbocharged by the vital process of building this type of data backbone for the environmental movement.

“We think it’s important to not only fund open source data that drives science into advocacy and decision-making but also to facilitate transparency and accountability,” said Melissa Wright, who leads the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “Now it’s possible to hold perpetrators accountable, ensure regulators are following through on enforcing policies, and show the opportunity for more action.”

Though there has been progress in funding the democratization of data, there are still key gaps that must be addressed. Data equity is imperative because of significant obstacles that prevent underserved communities from being able to engage in data and technologies, like a lack of access to the internet or a smartphone.

User support is another issue. You can’t build a platform and then just sit back and expect it to be used. Investments are needed to facilitate meaningful partnerships, so we can better understand what people actually need in order to create relevant solutions. Then, we must make sure that stakeholders understand how to apply the findings to bolster their vital campaigns to protect biodiversity and the climate, creating a more inclusive and robust environmental movement. 

Open-source data platforms coupled with artificial intelligence is a technological marvel and a game-changer for ocean advocacy and beyond. They provide vast amounts of information faster than ever before, which is vitally necessary at this critical juncture for planetary survival.

2030 is around the corner, and we’re nowhere near our goal of protecting 30 percent of the planet. We must make significant and rapid progress in a short amount of time, and we must make sure the process is inclusive and just. The rising tide of open-source data platforms can propel what needs to be done if we have the investments to expand and maintain these resources, continue working synergistically as a global movement, and do everything we can to form bridges between these powerful tools and those who bear the brunt of environmental harm worldwide.