Decision sovereignty for nature.
Governing and funding the commons in an AI era. A full-day workshop · ETH Zurich · 22 July 2026.
Workshop partners
Organizers
- Dr. David Daogainforest.earth · PL R&D
- Prof. Millie ChapmanETH Zurich
- Kim BuissonFunding the Commons
Abstract
Artificial intelligence is increasingly embedded in how nature-related public goods are monitored, valued, and financed, from algorithmic models steering conservation investment to AI-driven data pipelines feeding international biodiversity policy and their indicators of progress towards global targets. As these systems take on more of the work of deciding, an old question resurfaces in a new form: who actually holds authority over how nature is monitored, valued, and governed, and what happens to that authority when the infrastructure of decision-making becomes computational and is often built and controlled far from the ecosystems and communities it affects.
This workshop brings together researchers, technologists, funders, and policy practitioners to work through decision sovereignty for nature-related public goods at the intersection of AI governance, conservation finance, and international biodiversity policy. We are especially interested in how AI reshapes authority over biodiversity data, digital sequence information, and finance mechanisms, and what that means for equity, self-determination, and accountability.
Agenda
- 09:00 – 12:00Morning hike / forest walk together
- 12:30 – 14:00Welcome, lunch & lightning talks
- 14:00 – 17:30Working group session
- 19:00 – 22:00Speaker dinner + drinks (invite only)
Format
A morning hike and forest walk together, followed by a welcome, lunch and lightning talks, a long-form working group session, and a closing speaker dinner. Participants span AI governance, conservation finance, biodiversity informatics, and international policy: researchers, technologists, funders, and practitioners who build or depend on the systems that now decide how nature is valued.
Themes
01 · Authority over biodiversity data
Who governs the pipelines that turn observations of nature into indicators of progress toward global targets, and how does computational infrastructure relocate that authority away from the ecosystems and communities it describes?
02 · Digital sequence information
As genomic and sequence data become inputs to AI systems, what claims to benefit-sharing, consent, and self-determination should shape how that information is used and financed?
03 · AI-mediated conservation finance
When algorithmic models steer conservation investment, how are decisions made accountable, and to whom? And what mechanisms preserve equity and legitimacy in how capital is allocated?
04 · Sovereignty and accountability
What does decision sovereignty over nature-related public goods require in practice, when the infrastructure of deciding is computational, and often built and controlled far from the places it affects?
Outcomes
Timed ahead of COP17, the workshop aims to produce two concrete outputs:
01 · Joint declaration
A joint declaration on decision sovereignty, finance, and equity for nature-related public goods.
02 · Policy brief
A policy brief intended to feed directly into CBD deliberations and ongoing discussions on AI, DSI, and biodiversity governance.
To propose a talk, register, or co-sponsor: