Digital data drives biodiversity and agrobiodiversity sectors, yet its original sources - Indigenous and multispecies landscapes are often overlooked. The governance of global data infrastructures often overlooks the rights, knowledge, and priorities of those connected to natural resources and landscapes, raising critical questions around equity, ethics, governance, and benefit-sharing. In the context of growing corporate control of biological resources and knowledge, Access and Benefit-Sharing, and Digital Sequence Information are some of the tools/frameworks that have been applied to support both heritage preservation and scientific innovation. Concurrently, bottom-up initiatives are developing digital and conventional data infrastructures in biodiversity and agriculture that aim to restore knowledge sovereignty to biodiversity custodians and farmers.

Drawing on biodiversity commercialisation and agroecology case studies from Africa and other regions, this session examines approaches for equitable benefit sharing, data governance, and the strengthening of epistemic sovereignty. Contributors will critically interrogate how Indigenous peoples, and local communities can participate more effectively in biodiversity research design, data management and ownership, and decision-making processes related to benefit sharing.

The 90-minute round table discussion aims to provide both a critique and emerging solutions to data ownership and epistemic exclusions. Cross-sector data infrastructure lessons from biodiversity-based and agricultural sectors will be shared to unearth pathways for embedding equity and ethical governance into digital biodiversity data systems.

This session is intended for researchers, policymakers, and community representatives seeking to understand and explore inclusive, ethical and practices in biodiversity data governance, with a focus on fostering fair participation and benefit-sharing.