The SDG Data Alliance at the SDG Media Zone – UN Ocean Conference 2025
- pvblic
- Jun 13
- 6 min read
Nice, France – On June 10th, as the global ocean community gathered in Nice for the Third United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3), the SDG Media Zone served as the forum for a timely and solutions-driven dialogue on the future of digital infrastructure for ocean sustainability. The session “The Role of AI, Big Data, and Digital Innovation for Ocean Sustainability” brought together government leaders, technology innovators, and development experts to spotlight the transformative potential of digital tools, particularly for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and vulnerable ocean economies.
Key contributors of the SDG Data Alliance — a program of the PVBLIC Foundation — from across the globe took part in the session which underscored a critical and recurring challenge: while technologies such as satellite monitoring, AI-powered biodiversity mapping, and open data platforms are becoming increasingly advanced, the communities that could benefit from them most often lack access, infrastructure, and training to fully leverage them.
Framing the discussion in his opening remarks, Sergio Fernández de Córdova, Executive Chairman of PVBLIC Foundation, stressed that data and AI are aspirational concepts, but foundational assets for modern ocean governance. “AI, big data, digital innovation—these aren’t just buzzwords. They’re the backbone of a new model of ocean governance,” he said. “The solution already exists, the question is how fast can we deploy it? How equitable can we share them? And how boldly can we scale them—for SIDS, by SIDS, and with the global community behind them.”
Further framing the session in his remarks, Ambassador Peter Thomson, the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean, issued a stark reminder of what’s at stake. “We have to reject a 3 degrees future,” he said, grounding the session in the broader climate imperative that underscores the need for rapid, data-informed action. One of the ways the session explored concrete mechanisms to operationalize that momentum was through discussion of the launch of the SIDS Global Data Hub—a key deliverable of the new SIDS Centre of Excellence and a tangible outcome of the 2024 SIDS Conference in Antigua and Barbuda. Through interoperable, open-source platforms, the Data Hub aims to democratize real-time oceanographic information, enabling countries to better monitor marine environments and inform policy with precision and agility.
Subsequently, Ambassador Viliami Va'inga Tōnē, Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Tonga to the United Nations, added to the discussion: “The SIDS Global Data Hub and the Center of Excellence are two great initiatives that bring data tools and skills for use by SIDS to better manage effectively their resources.” He stressed that data must be tailored to SIDS’ needs and their unique environments. “It is very important that we gather these tools and make them fit for purpose, make them appropriate for our environment, in our state's environment.”
Adding to the dialogue, Ramraj Narasimhan, Senior Director at the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure in India, shifted focus toward implementation. He advocated for “impact-based forecasting” to drive timely and effective decision-making, especially in regions experiencing recurring climate-related disasters. “Disasters are hitting us every year, day on day,” he stated. “The sooner we do something about the current risk as we are seeing them... one of the key things I would push for is an impact-based forecast.” He further emphasized that investment decisions must be grounded in science: “Investments require to be based on data. That means they must be informed by science. The decisions for investing or not investing should be made... on the basis of the data.” His intervention highlighted a pragmatic lens—one that called for scientific integrity and forward-looking planning in climate adaptation strategies.
Bringing a crucial perspective from the host country of the 2024 SIDS Conference, H.E. Ruleta Camacho-Thomas, Ambassador for Climate Change for Antigua and Barbuda, made the case for a more holistic view of data. “Governments need to make decisions based on data,” she said, “and decisions are not just ecosystems or oceans—there are people, culture, economy.” She flagged a persistent challenge: “Some of the issues we are having is not just having the data, but then interpreting the data and analyzing the data with different trajectories in mind.” Her remarks called attention to the cultural and human dimensions often lost in data frameworks, adding, “We need to really put some effort into understanding what data exists and what was not collected and documented, because that speaks to our cultural identity.” For Ambassador Camacho-Thomas, she urged that data must reflect lived realities if it is to lead to just and effective solutions.
As the conversation turned toward the foundational elements of data infrastructure, Mark Heine, CEO of Fugro, stressed that without accurate mapping, even the most advanced data systems fall short. “Mapping is the basis of everything,” he said. “It’s the starting point, and it needs to be accurate.” Heine pointed out that in SIDS, where coastlines are shifting and maritime boundaries are contested, delays in data collection can have real geopolitical consequences: “If you wait too long and you don't collect the data properly from the coastlines, then certain rocks might disappear under the water... and you will have a different basically property of the country and ownership.” While acknowledging that lower-resolution data can be used for preliminary risk assessments or desktop studies, he emphasized that true climate adaptation—whether reinforcing coastlines or negotiating boundaries—demands high-resolution, high-quality data. “You need to use the right tools and the right technology to get the right amount of data and the right amount of quality,” he said. Fugro’s work, he noted, has contributed significantly to these efforts, though gaps remain. His comments underscored the technical backbone needed to turn data aspirations into durable, real-world solutions.
Following remarks from Ambassadors Tōnē and Camacho-Thomas on the significance of data to governments and local communities, Ashaki Goodwin, PVBLIC’s Director of Government Relations, reinforced the stakes for island nations navigating complex development challenges. “For SIDS, having good quality data is not a nice-to-have. We need it,” she said. “Many developing countries, including SIDS, ocean economies, still do not have access to high-quality, timely, and relatable data tools and innovative technology to support the implementation of SDG 14 and the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS.” She called for greater investment not only in data systems but in the institutions and people that use them: “Data collection is not for museums. It’s to allow us to make policy-based decisions, and find better ways to channel financing to the needs of the community.
Similarly, Dr. Dawn Wright, Chief Scientist and Oceanographer at Esri, built on this theme by stressing that the conversation must go beyond access to datasets alone. “We talk very much about access to data, but I think it's also important to think about access to data workflows,” she said. These workflows—how data is processed, interpreted, and applied—are crucial to trust and transparency. “This is essentially what we are doing with the data, how we are analyzing the data once we have it,” Wright noted. “And it's a very important issue for policy makers, for decision makers, and I think it adds to the trust that is engendered when we present the data, when we present decisions based on that data.”
The session served not only as a platform to share best practices and emerging technologies, but also as a catalytic space for multi-stakeholder collaboration. With participation from ministers, scientists, development bank leaders, and private sector innovators, the event bridged sectors to illuminate how digital innovation can drive not just sustainability, but sovereignty, prosperity, and resilience for coastal communities on the frontlines of ocean change.
Stephen Keppel, President of PVBLIC Foundation, in his concluding remarks, captured this paradox directly: “We’re not lacking data. We’re lacking access, interoperability, and the skills to turn data into decisions. How do we advance along the data value chain?” He emphasized that closing this gap requires far more than just technical deployment. “We must centre inclusion and collaboration in everything that we build. The path ahead is not just technical. It’s political, it’s financial, and it’s deeply human. But the momentum is building.”
As PVBLIC’s President Stephen Keppel affirmed, “At PVBLIC, we’re committed to supporting data as an asset, nature-based solutions, public-private collaborations, and expanding access to digital tools that drive real progress for people and the planet.”
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