Global data generation, including nature-related data, has grown exponentially, from an estimated 33 zettabytes (33 trillion gigabytes) of data in 2018 to a projected 175 zettabytes by 2025 (Reinsel, Gantz and Rydning 2018). Nature-related data generation, aggregation and interpretation has increased significantly due to rapid growth in data volumes, methods of data collection, and new analytical approaches (Farley et al. 2018).

Despite this, 70% of investors believe a lack of available data is a key barrier to making investments supporting biodiversity (Credit Suisse and Responsible Investor 2021).

This report set out to identify the availability and suitability of publicly available nature-related data to support financial decision-making in five case-study countries (Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Mexico, and South Africa). Its findings and recommendations aim to inform data needs for successful disclosure frameworks, such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), to be established. The key findings of each decision-grade criterion used in this assessment are summarized below, with each criterion scored on a visual scale from 0 (criterion not met at all) to 5 (criterion completely met): Relevance/suitability | ⚫⚪⚪⚪⚪ Overall, 7% of the nature-related datasets identified in the five case study countries were deemed suitable for financial decision-making based on expert judgement and alignment with the characteristics for decision-grade data.

Resolution and scalability | ⚫⚫⚫⚪⚪ Most nature-related raster datasets with known resolutions were sufficiently granular for sub-national analyses. However, the resolution/scale was unknown for 48% of the nature-related datasets identified in the five case study countries, making it challenging to assess the appropriate use of many datasets.