Data is not neutral. It carries power — and that power belongs first to those who live the reality it captures. ~RRN
Introduction
Across Africa’s coastal communities, data flows are constant but deeply uneven.
Every year, researchers, NGOs, development agencies, and government institutions descend on fishing villages, farming hubs, and climate-vulnerable communities, collecting data on rising sea levels, fish stock changes, rainfall patterns, and the socio-economic impacts of climate shocks.
But here is the uncomfortable truth: far too often, that data leaves — never to return.
This is the silent injustice within climate research, development work, and resilience programing.
When Data Collection Becomes Data Extraction
The term data justice has gained traction globally. But in Africa’s coastal communities, it is not an abstract debate. It is lived experience.
Many communities have described the repeated cycle:
- Surveys conducted.
- Stories shared.
- Numbers recorded.
- Reports published elsewhere.
- Communities remain uninformed, uninvolved, and unsupported.
As the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights warned in 2019: “Data collection without return creates power imbalances, reinforcing inequality rather than solving it.“
The Climate Research Dilemma
This problem is particularly glaring in the context of climate resilience work:
- West African fishers provide vital data on fish migration and ecosystem changes. Yet fisheries management plans often exclude them from decision-making (World Bank, 2020).
- Coastal women involved in mangrove restoration in Nigeria or Senegal help gather biodiversity data, but rarely access the findings or the financial benefits from carbon credits.
- Households in Mozambique and East Africa routinely share post-flood damage data with humanitarian agencies but are excluded from recovery planning discussions.
What Is Data Justice?
Data justice challenges the idea that collecting data is neutral. It asks:
- Who defines what data is valuable?
- Who collects it?
- Who owns it?
- Who controls its use?
- Who benefits from its insights?
Without explicit mechanisms to share data with communities, data collection becomes a form of extraction. It profits research institutions, informs global policy, and drives funding but leaves those most affected with little power over their own narratives.
Data Justice Is Climate Justice
According to the Global Commission on Adaptation (2019), successful climate adaptation is locally-led, knowledge-rich, and participatory. Yet true participation is impossible without access to information.
Without community access to:
- Climate risk maps
- Early warning systems
- Biodiversity data
- Catch data or rainfall patterns
Communities are left disempowered in their own adaptation strategies.
What Does Good Practice Look Like?
There are emerging models that center data justice in climate work:
- The World Bank project in Senegal and Cabo Verde trains fishers to manage their own data for sustainable fisheries.
- The Participatory Monitoring & Evaluation Guidelines developed by FAO and UNDP advocate for two-way data flows, where communities not only provide data but access and use it.
- The UNESCO Local & Indigenous Knowledge Systems Program promotes restoring data ownership to knowledge holders.
The Way Forward: Principles of Climate Data Justice
- Transparency: Communities must know what data is collected, for what purpose, and how it will be used.
- Return & Reciprocity: Data findings should be returned in accessible, local languages and actionable formats.
- Shared Ownership: Co-design research processes where data is co-owned.
- Capacity Strengthening: Train local actors in data management and analysis.
- Community Data Hubs: Establish local data storage and access points.
Conclusion
Data without return is not research. It is extraction.
If we want truly resilient coastal communities, climate data must not leave them powerless. The future of climate adaptation in Africa is not just about technology or finance. It is about restoring power, knowledge, and agency to those on the frontlines of climate change. Because climate resilience is empty without data justice.
#DataJustice #ClimateAction #CoastalResilience #CommunityLedSolutions #ClimateAdaptation #revampravenetwork