This document discusses how big data and data science can help achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It provides examples of using mobile phone data to analyze the effectiveness of COVID-19 policies and monitor population movement. It also describes using satellite imagery and automatic identification system data from commercial fishing vessels to detect illegal fishing activity in marine protected areas.

1. Data for Development:
Opportunities with Big Data
13 November 2021 By D. Napaul

2. NO POVERTY
Spending patterns on
mobile phone services can
provide proxy indicators
of income levels
ZERO HUNGER
Crowdsourcing or tracking
of food prices listed online
can help monitor food
security in near real-time
GOOD HEALTH AND
WELL-BEING
Mapping the movement of
mobile phone users can
help predict the spread
of infectious diseases
QUALITY EDUCATION
Citizen reporting can
reveal reasons for
student drop-out rates
GENDER EQUALITY
Analysis of financial
transactions can reveal
the spending patterns
and different impacts
of economic shocks on
men and women
CLEAN WATER
AND SANITATION
Sensors connected to
water pumps can track
access to clean water
AFFORDABLE AND
CLEAN ENERGY
Smart metering allows
utility companies to
increase or restrict the
flow of electricity, gas
or water to reduce waste
and ensure adequate
supply at peak periods
DECENT WORK AND
ECONOMIC GROWTH
Patterns in global postal
traffic can provide indicators
such as economic growth,
remittances, trade and GDP
INDUSTRY,
INNOVATION AND
INFRASTRUCTURE
Data from GPS devices
can be used for traffic
control and to improve
public transport
REDUCED INEQUALITY
Speech-to-text analytics
on local radio content
can reveal discrimination
concerns and support
policy response
SUSTAINABLE CITIES
AND COMMUNITIES
Satellite remote sensing
can track encroachment
on public land or spaces
such as parks and forests
RESPONSIBLE
CONSUMPTION AND
PRODUCTION
Online search patterns or
e-commerce transactions
can reveal the pace
of transition to energy
efficient products
CLIMATE ACTION
Combining satellite imagery,
crowd-sourced witness
accounts and open data can
help track deforestation
LIFE BELOW WATER
Maritime vessel tracking
data can reveal illegal,
unregulated and unreported
fishing activities
LIFE ON LAND
Social media monitoring
can support disaster
management with
real-time information
on victim location,
effects and strength
of forest fires or haze
PEACE, JUSTICE
AND STRONG
INSTITUTIONS
Sentiment analysis of
social media can reveal
public opinion on effective
governance, public service
delivery or human rights
PARTNERSHIPS
FOR THE GOALS
Partnerships to enable the
combining of statistics,
mobile and internet data can
provide a better and real-
time understanding of today’s
hyper-connected world
BIG
DATA
SDGs
How data science
and analytics can
contribute to sustainable
development

3. Using cellphones to combat
COVID-19
After the onset of the COVID-19 outbreak, governments
began implementing policy measures to reduce social
contact and curb the spread of the pandemic. Data collected
through mobile phones, such as call detail records
and global positioning system (GPS) location data, have
been extremely valuable in quantifying the eff ectiveness
of policies, ranging from partial curfews to strict lockdowns.
These data enable measurement of population
density, travel patterns, and population mixing in real
time and at high resolution, making it possible to better
target policy interventions and improve epidemiological
modeling

4. Using data to
detect illegal fishing activity
Monitoring illegal fishing in Marine Protected Areas
(MPAs) is difficult because of their size and distance
from land. The boundaries of MPAs are curated and
made open access by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Yet identifying boats
in vast expanses of the ocean requires innovative
uses of data that are not publicly available. Global
Fishing Watch has data partnerships with the firm
ORBCOMM to access raw data from commercial trawlers’
automatic identification systems (AIS), which provides
the real-time geographic coordinates of each trawler to
help avoid collisions and provide other traffic services.
AIS data can be combined with optical and radar imagery
from satellites to detect illegal fishing activity (figure
B4.3.1). By overlaying MPA boundaries on AIS data
used to identify boats and determining fishing behaviors
from the time spent in specific areas, researchers
found that 59 percent of MPAs in the European Union
were commercially trawled. In areas that were heavily
fished, the presence of sensitive species (such as sharks,
rays, and skates) was 69 percent lower