Kauriland Summit 2021
Theme 4: Integrated Surveillance
Summit Video
NRT Kaurilands Summit 2021 – Theme 4 Integrated Surveillance from NZ’s BioHeritage Sci Challenge on Vimeo.
Q&A / Discussion
What’s your priority for Integrated Surveillance in the coming year?
The priority is to get the biodiversity management areas defined and publicly available. Then we can begin to work gathering data through our Integrated Intelligence Platform (IIP) tool and then apply the Proof of Absence (POA) to that data.
We are partnering and working with the Co-leads of five other NRT themes that will generate research and data across 16 Biodiversity Management Area (BMAs), as prioritised by NRT researchers, and 36 research projects. This data and information will be applied and tested in the establishment of the IIP and will also test how the custodians will interface with the platform and what issues may arise.
The IIP was initially focused on kauri dieback, so we are also looking at developing and extending the scope of to capture information of new myrtle rust incursions in different areas. Testing via the research data will in turn develop the sovereignty and custody digital libraries needed.
Can you give us an example of who might be custodians and this kind of system?
Custodians could be anyone who is collecting information or data.
e.g. Crown agencies, science research institutes, community groups, land managers, mana whenua.
Pre Covid-19 we held a workshop with scientists and researchers. The initial discussion was to create a centralised vault for all kauri dieback and myrtle rust information is in one place for sharing, but still wanted the opportunity to have some control over how it is shared. The platform allows anyone with information and data to upload it. Where the information/data is open source it can be interfaced across the platform. Anyone who collects, uses or shares data can use the platform. It’s about getting the data to a place where you can make better management and/or research decisions, e.g. prioritising resources/funding.
How might the data infrastructure and integrated surveillance model be sustained and governed into the future, noting the need for mana whenua control of the BMA data?
While information and data is being utilised, it can be used directly on-site, but can also be used in developing something that’s predictive because the various data and information sources can be combined. In addition to this, it can be developed to standardise the way that we share data and information as well as influence the outcomes of the data.
In terms of data governance, the conversations have been very broad so far, and this needs to be further defined. How the platform will be maintained and managed/controlled. In the context of this research mana whenua will have their own data and information that will sit with them, the platform doesn’t hold the data directly, it gives the ability to access and operationalise it.
Great explanation on the connection between custodian and mātauranga authority as sovereign holders but I could not see how others outside this circuit access the information as it does not appear to be a public database. Take for example DNA sequences which are usually deposited in a database that anyone anywhere can access. The Covid outbreak is a great example of this model. If NZ is to get input from others with different expertise and knowledge how would that work?
The aim is to develop an open system for anyone who agrees to conditions described in a data license, which will respect the demands of the platform, the custodian and the sovereign authority of the data. The platform will hold a metadata catalogue that can be accessed and searched by anyone, however, access rights to the data itself will be managed by the custodian and the sovereign authority.
I wondered if you might share how such a system that replicates data might cope with firewalls that are typically in place for most organisations now. Particularly what safety mechanisms might be added to keep data safe.
This is an excellent question and one that we don’t yet have a clear answer for. We are currently researching the options for ensuring system security.