We welcome all interested parties, especially representatives of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities, to join the leadership of the Toha Network Trust in a side event discussion about the role of Indigenous data sovereignty in the design of biodiversity markets as a mechanism for distributing funding and finance for frontline action. 

Toha Network is an indigenous-led project from Aotearoa New Zealand focused on building digital public infrastructure to facilitate self-sovereign identity, collective governance over biodiversity measurement data, as well as direct funding to land stewards.

Toha believes any shared system that succeeds in enabling and empowering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to participate and succeed in conservation and restoration, without undermining their self-sovereignty or control of resources, is likely to attract widespread support.

Data sovereignty is a major governance issue, and is particularly critical for credit-based financial instruments.

At this side event we will explore the issue of Indigenous data sovereignty and propose ways to build shared understanding amongst various interests.