P08 — Community and Indigenous Data Consent
SCD-P08 · Principle 8 of 10
Community and Indigenous Data Consent
“CARE complements FAIR. People before data.”
Governance Layer
Definition
For climate data that touches territories, resources, or knowledge of indigenous or local communities — including forests, water, biodiversity, traditional ecological knowledge, and land-use data — the CARE Principles must complement FAIR: Collective Benefit (data use benefits the community, not just the collector), Authority to Control (communities control who accesses data about their territories), Responsibility (data users are accountable to the community), and Ethics (data collection, use, and sharing align with community values and rights). Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) is required before data collection begins.
Rationale
In LATAM, most primary tropical forest is on indigenous or community land (Amazon, Andean communities, Mesoamerican forests, Pacific lowlands). Sovereign climate data built without community consent is: legally contested under ILO Convention 169 and national laws; technically incomplete (traditional ecological knowledge fills critical monitoring gaps); and ethically compromised. Post-COP15, the TNFD v1.0 framework — adopted by 320+ financial institutions — makes community rights a mandatory disclosure dimension. The Global Indigenous Data Alliance's CARE Principles (2019) are the operational framework; CODATA IDW 2025 reviewed their maturity model in practice.
Implementation Steps
- Map all data collection activities against community land rights before beginning.
- Obtain documented FPIC from affected communities before any data collection on their land.
- Establish a data governance agreement that specifies community rights to access, correct, and withdraw consent for their data.
- Ensure community members can access and challenge data about their territories.
- Report on CARE compliance in the same place as FAIR compliance.
Compliance Checklist
| Criterion | What it means | |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Community land map completed | Data activities mapped against indigenous and community land rights. |
| ☐ | FPIC documented | Free, Prior, and Informed Consent obtained and documented before data collection. |
| ☐ | Data governance agreement signed | Agreement specifies community rights and responsibilities of the collector. |
| ☐ | Community access enabled | Communities can view, challenge, and request correction of data about their land. |
Regulatory References
- ILO Convention 169 — Indigenous and Tribal Peoples (ratified by Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, Mexico)
- TNFD Framework v1.0 (2023) — Core Disclosure B (Stakeholder engagement)
- Global Indigenous Data Alliance — CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance (2019)
- CBD Kunming-Montreal Framework (COP15, 2022) — Target 22 (Indigenous rights)
Recommended Tools and Platforms
RAISG Indigenous Territories Map FAO FPIC Guidelines CARE Data Maturity Model
Keywords
CARE principles indigenous data sovereignty FPIC community consent TNFD ILO 169 LATAM