None of Jeffrey Sachs and colleagues' cited monitoring systems (Nature 466, 558–560; 2010) meets the innovation requirements for the comprehensive monitoring of agro-ecological zones worldwide.

Information technologies now offer an array of approaches and tools for rapid collation, organization and dissemination of interactive data, but most monitoring systems are outdated and protectionist. They are often developed and maintained in isolation, which severely reduces the utility of the data and information gathered. New platforms and different ways of collecting information will be required to build a global system.

There is a growing disconnect between ambitious international agendas set by Western scientists and the realities on the ground in developing countries. To achieve policy and governance targets that are associated with sustainable agriculture, conservation and human welfare, monitoring should be participatory and decentralized to take advantage of the wealth of experience and information embodied in traditional farming knowledge and practices and in decentralized governance regimes.