Biodiversity data sharing can be politically fraught in regions where trust is fragile, both between and within countries. Marine ecologist Reem AlMealla, founder of Nuwat for Environmental Research & Education in Bahrain, discusses how trust can be built into data-sharing governance in the Persian–Arabian Gulf and other low-trust regions.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 digital issues and online access to articles
$119.00 per year
only $9.92 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on SpringerLink
- Instant access to the full article PDF.
USD 39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Acknowledgements
I thank the participants of the informal Gulf Data Diplomacy Group for their thoughtful discussions and exchanges that have helped to shape the ideas reflected in this World View. I am particularly grateful to N. Pyenson for his leadership in co-coordinating the group and to A. Valenzuela for her encouraging feedback. I also acknowledge the use of ChatGPT as a language-editing tool to improve the clarity and fluency of the text.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
R.K.A. is the founder of Nuwat for Environmental Research & Education, an organization engaged in ecological research, biodiversity data generation and capacity building in Bahrain and the wider region. The views expressed in this World View are R.K.A.’s own.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
AlMealla, R.K. Cultivating biodiversity data sharing in regions where trust is fragile. Nat. Rev. Biodivers. (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-026-00144-2
Published:
Version of record:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s44358-026-00144-2
