# CTH as Framework Operator The most important design choice in this framework: **CTH is the operator, not the owner.**CTH maintains the technical infrastructure, publishes the standards, certifies validators, and enforces the rules. CTH does not own, sell, or unilaterally access the climate data that flows through the system.

**The ICANN Model:** ICANN operates the Domain Name System globally. It maintains the protocol, accredits registrars, and enforces policy. It does not own domain names — registrants do. CTH's relationship to climate data is structurally identical. CTH maintains the protocol and enforces the framework; data submitters and communities own their data.

## What CTH Can Do

#### ✅ Maintain infrastructure Operate the governance ledger, API, and credential verification services.

#### ✅ Publish standards Release new framework versions, SHACL shapes, and methodology registries.

#### ✅ Certify validators Issue CTH Validator Credentials to organisations meeting EN ISO/IEC 14065 requirements.

#### ✅ Enforce submission rules Reject submissions that fail SHACL validation or lack required FPIC credentials.

## What CTH Cannot Do

#### 🚫 Override FPIC consent CTH cannot access community-restricted data even with full administrator credentials. This is enforced at database row-level security — not policy.

#### 🚫 Sell or license data CTH cannot sell, license, or grant access to data it does not own. Data owners control their own ODRL usage policies.

#### 🚫 Change framework unilaterally Major framework changes require a ⅔ board supermajority. Changes touching FPIC rules additionally require Community Sovereignty Panel affirmative vote.

#### 🚫 Validate its own data CTH-submitted data must be validated by a third-party accredited validator. No self-certification.

## Legal Basis

Jurisdiction	Relevant instrument	Implication for CTH
Colombia	Law 21 of 1991 (ILO 169 ratification)	Free Prior and Informed Consent mandatory before collecting data in indigenous territories
Colombia	2016 Peace Accords — Ethnic Chapter	Community data rights recognised as part of territorial rights
EU	GDPR Article 5	Data minimisation and purpose limitation — encoded in ODRL policies
Brazil	LGPD (Lei 13.709/2018)	Consent requirements for personal data in emissions records
International	CARE Principles (GIDA 2018)	Collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility, ethics — all encoded in framework rules

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