At moja global, our mission is simple: support accurate, cost-effective climate action by making greenhouse gas data and tools accessible to everyone. That’s why we chose to make our flagship platform, the Full Lands Integration Tool (FLINT), fully open source and adopted a copyleft model. But what does that mean and how does it impact users?
Defining Open Source
Open source means moja global’s FLINT software source code is freely available for anyone to use, modify, and share. It promotes collaboration, transparency, and faster innovation.
Defining Copyleft
Copyleft is a licensing approach that ensures any modified versions of open-source software must also remain open and free to use. This protects the original freedom of the FLINT software’s code by requiring future improvements to be shared with the community.
Benefits of the Open Source and Copyleft Models
There are significant benefits for users of FLINT from our commitment to operating under open source and copyleft principles:
- By eliminating license fees and leveraging a global contributor base, FLINT cuts MRV costs by up to 70%. Its rapid deployment (< 6 months) and reusable modules drive down per-project expenses, while building in-country capacity for sustained operations.
- Continuous improvements to the FLINT code base from the community of users enhances accuracy through regular code updates and application of the latest scientific understanding of the greenhouse gas fluxes within the land sector.
- Transparency within the open source model provides users confidence in the results FLINT provides compared to “black box” proprietary solutions from third-party vendors.
Dispelling Myths About Open Source and Copyleft Models
Data Ownership and Privacy
A common concern potential users of the FLINT platform have is over the privacy and security of their data when using an open source tool. Data on land emissions and land use change can be very sensitive. It can even be life-threatening for that data to be in the wrong hands.
Indigenous Peoples, land defenders and NGOs around the world are gathering data from the land used to inform law enforcement of illegal deforestation, land theft, wildfires and other issues. For these potential users, protecting that data is paramount.
Fortunately, FLINT was designed for your data to only be accessible by the individual user. When you download FLINT, the activity data you upload is secret. FLINT can be deployed in secure, private environments with full control over access to eliminate external security risks. All code contributions are bound by Mozilla Public License Version 2.0 rules with a Developer Certificate of Origin and documentation is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
In addition, our wide network of contributors consistently reviews the open source code to ensure no harmful changes to the platform occur.
Open Source Doesn’t Integrate with Users’ Proprietary IT Software
Potential users often cite concerns that the proprietary software they already utilize as part of their broader Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) program won’t integrate with FLINT. The community of developers behind FLINT designed the system to be flexible to work with a diverse range of proprietary systems to ensure this wouldn’t be a challenge.
FLINT was built from the beginning to be able to be used by national governments, investors, private sector businesses, local and global NGOs, and anyone else who wanted to access the MRV capabilities it can provide. Users of FLINT with existing IT infrastructure will find that the ability for the modeling platform to work with a wide range of IT systems provides major benefits. The ability to customize the platform to work within existing infrastructure ensures users can quickly integrate FLINT into their current IT systems to enable data driven decision making.
Open Source Applications Are Lower Quality
There is a misconception that open source software is lower quality. Often people view the open source software as containing more “bugs” or facing higher security risks.
In fact, most commercial applications use some form of open source software. According to Intel, “A 2024 Synopsis report showed that 96% of the commercial code bases they sampled contained open source software, and 77% of the code within those code bases was open source.” The apps and programs on your phone or laptop are likely utilizing a significant amount of open source software to operate right now.
Our user base disproves this myth as FLINT is used by national governments, research institutions, and experts around the world. Its modules are peer-reviewed and rigorously tested. Every improvement is reviewed before being added, ensuring high standards are maintained. You can actually see our living library of scientific publications that utilize the core elements of FLINT and its base infrastructure. The list has grown so long we may just be the most academically referenced MRV ecosystem that exists.
Open Source Applications Don’t Provide Support
Some shy away from utilizing open source applications over perceived lack of support to operate and improve the software. However, FLINT is backed by an active global community of users and supported by moja global’s expert development team. We’re excited to work with new adopters of FLINT to help develop their use of the platform and to support unique updates that will improve the software for the whole community. Users also have access to documentation, forums, and optional technical assistance.
Learn more about the benefits of FLINT by visiting our Story Map
If you’re curious to learn more and to potentially be a Friend of FLINT please reach out to us at info@moja.global.