Big Data for Environmental Resilience and Adaptation
May 14th-16th, 2024
University of Colorado Boulder
ESIIL's 2024 Innovation Summit offered an opportunity to use big data to understand resilience across genes, species, ecosystems and societies, advance ecological forecasting with solutions in mind, and inform adaptive management and natural climate solutions. The Summit supported attendees to advance data-informed courses of action for resilience and adaptation in the face of our changing environment. This in-person ‘unconference’, enables participants to dynamically work on themes that most inspire them, with inclusive physical and intellectual spaces for working together. Over two and a half days participants worked in teams to explore research questions using open science approaches, including: data infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) and novel analytics, and cloud computing. Participants were encouraged to work across and respect different perspectives, with the aim of co-developing resilience solutions. ESIIL provided participants with opportunities to learn more about cultural intelligence, ethical and open science practices, and leadership in the rapidly evolving field of environmental data science. Overall, the Summit capitalized on the combination of open data and analytics opportunities to develop innovative or impactful approaches that improve environmental resilience and adaptation.
CO-WY Engine Partnership
ESIIL partnered with the Colorado-Wyoming Climate Resilience Engine, a recent NSF investment to expand the frontiers of technology and innovation and spur economic growth across Colorado and Wyoming. Together, ESIIL and the CO-WY Engine will develop innovative and inclusive initiatives to increase climate resilience, enabling local communities, governments, and industries to effectively navigate climate change challenges.
About the CO-WY Climate Resilience Engine:
The CO-WY Engine, a groundbreaking initiative led by Innosphere Ventures, aims to revolutionize climate resilience in Colorado and Wyoming, two states grappling with decades of environmental challenges. This collaborative effort, supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation, focuses on driving innovation in climate resilience and sustainability. By bringing together diverse partners, the CO-WY Engine seeks to develop and commercialize technologies that address critical environmental challenges, foster economic growth, and enhance community well-being, ultimately reshaping the landscape of reliable climate technologies and economic development in the region. Visit www.co-wyengine.org for more information.
Why Big Data for Environmental Resilience and Adaptation?
Humans have vastly altered ecosystems, leading to habitat and biodiversity loss, climate change, and altered nutrient and water cycles. At the same time, we are in an unprecedented moment where vast amounts of data are being produced about our planet faster than we can generate insights in a responsible way. We urgently need solutions that foster equitable use of our planet’s resources and better distribute the burden of adaptation.
The goals of the 2024 ESIIL Innovation Summit:
- Explore big data for environmental resilience and adaptation by identifying data synthesis opportunities and utilizing ESIIL cloud-compute capabilities.
- Promote best practices in ethical, open science, by supporting accessibility and usability of environmental data by all stakeholders. Champion ethical and equitable practices in environmental science, honoring data sovereignty and encouraging the responsible use of AI.
- Support diverse and inclusive teams by establishing collaborations around data-inspired themes across different disciplines, sectors, career stages, and backgrounds.
- Encourage the co-production of environmental knowledge with communities that are experiencing significant environmental challenges.
The Summit brought together participants who are interested in exploring the potential of big data to increase our understanding of environmental adaptation and resilience by identifying data synthesis opportunities, exploring ESIIL CI capabilities, and cultivating innovative ideas by building diverse and inclusive teams.
If you have any questions about the 2024 Innovation Summit or have ideas for the 2025 Innovation Summit, please contact esiil@colorado.edu.