How do we assure cheap digital IoT sensors and measuring devices have high integrity as decision-grade data providers for trustable credits in voluntary nature markets?
By implementing international open standardised processes for digital devices and their data measuring carbon sequestration, biodiversity and nature improvements.
This site provides the knowledge base and wiki items to guide you through applying the standardised processes for assuring the security, validation and management of data from digital devices and sensor instruments used on the ground, out in the field, manufactured by any provider.
The standardised processes will clarify the quality and trustability required of the data from digital devices/instruments. They will prescribe how devices prove they are accurately scientifically measuring, according to scientifically agreed processes, as defined by existing and emerging carbon and biodiversity codes.
Evidence of device calibration and strong authentification, of data validation and verification and governance will be required.
Previously, IoT sensors and digital measuring devices lacked credibility as comparable, trustable data sources. This is because there is no consistent or standardised process for authenticating, calibrating and validating them, nor guaranteeing their cybersecurity, as each device manufacturer has differing methods and bespoke measurement units. In 2021, IoT attacks rose 50% in just six months, due to configuration flaws (configuration, calibration and validation issues) and cryptographic key flaws (authentication and security issues). This currently weakens sensors’ and digital measurement devices’ viability as creators of decision-grade data. This is likely to cause investors in biodiversity net gain projects to demand more expensive methods of proving biodiversity improvement, instead making the projects financially non-viable for farmers and land managers. This issue can be solved by writing standardised processes for configuring, calibrating, validating, authenticating and securing IoT sensors.
This will better enable investment in the nature-based solutions that will assist in the journey to net-zero. Reliable decision-grade data – gathered using calibrated and triangulated digital devices – which can, for example, quantify negative impacts across value chains, is less than abundant. This makes the ‘bankable’ case for nature continuously challenging – and the globe’s stock of ‘green’ investors, limited.