International Workshops ICT-ENSURE

ICT-ENSURE is the leading support action in the area „research in the field of ICT for environmental sustainability“ in the 7th framework programme. The objectives are to extend the network of experts in environmental sustainability research and to structure a yet unstructured and distributed field. These objectives are achieved by organising four expert workshops across EU27, contributing to two EnviroInfo conferences, building two web-based information systems and by analysing the role of ICTs in selected areas of environmental sustainability.

All this will add together to create a roadmap outlining the direction of future European research in the field. Moreover, the extended network between experts will drive synergies and thus build the basis for new cooperation and research. Hence, ICT-ENSURE contributes to a coherent European Research Area (ERA) and works towards a Single Information Space in Europe for the Environment (SISE).

Within the EnviroInfo 2009 in Berlin, ICT-ENSURE will organise five workshops. One of them will be focused on SISE. The others will cover a subset of the analysed environmental sustainability fields, namely ICT for…

  • Climate Change and Climate Change adaptation
  • Natural Resources and Biodiversity
  • Risk Management
  • Industrial Ecology

ICT-ENSURE website

ICT for Climate Change and Climate Change adaptation

Climate change is likely to affect a wide range of areas, for example by increasing climate change related hazards, affecting biodiversity and ecosystems and by providing new challenges for the economic sector. Therefore this area is of major interest within the EU and internationally. A major focus in the area of climate change will have to be on adaptation to climate change as Europe will have to cope with the future adverse effects of climate change.

ICT applications of interest in the area of climate change include assessment and prediction methods, the development of long-term and high resolution datasets and models, to improve access to existing data and integrate data relevant for adaptation into INSPIRE (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe), SEIS (Shared Environment Information System) and GMES (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security) and to make better use of existing information-systems.

This ICT-ENSURE workshops aims at further analysing the importance and the future role of Information and Communication Technologies in this research area and at inducing discussion between experts from different fields of expertise by integrating the wide range of expertise present at the EnviroInfo 2009.

ICT for Natural Resources and Biodiversity

At the current stage limited and non-renewable resources are overused and the consumption of natural resources should be limited to avoid ecological disaster. Intact ecosystems offer invaluable services by supplying us with clean water, air and regenerate soils. In this context the focus within the key area of sustainable use of natural resources deals with water resources, soil resources, air and biodiversity also in relation to resources use in the tourism industry.

ICT for sustainable use of natural resources is a necessary and rapidly expanding area. While research covers the areas mentioned above, it also includes the consumption and recycling aspect of resource use, the influence of ICT on society and the requirements imposed by society on the ICT infrastructure.

The focus of this ICT-ENSURE workshop is to analyse and connect different aspects and research fields related to ICT and sustainable use of natural resources. By supporting interdisciplinary exchange in this diverse research field this workshop is well linked to other focus areas covered in the EnviroInfo 2009.

ICT for Environmental Sustainability Research

Shaping the Single Information Space in Europe for the Environment

The EU Programme ICT-ENSURE organizes the second workshop devoted to discuss the connecting activities between SEIS and SISE. The special focus will be on interlinking infor-mation and communication technology (ICT) applications and initiatives within national re-search programmes, relevant for environmental and sustainability research.

The project “ICT for Environmental Sustainability Research” is considered to strengthen the network of national and international ICT/environmental/sustainability research programmes. The workshop aims at communicating ICT application knowledge and ideas between pro-gram managers of national research programmes, managers of industrial programs and FP6-FP7 EU program participants. In presentation slots, the workshop offers information on the state of the art of environmental informatics within the EnviroInfo conference.

The workshop provides an opportunity to include contributions to enrich the main topics of the EnviroInfo Berlin conference especially towards a shared environmental information space (SEIS).

Conference participants are very welcome to join the Environmental Informatics Community and to contribute with their experience and ideas to the European Research Area ERA. The workshop is supported by DG INFSO & Media unit 4 “ICT for Sustainable Growth” of the European Commission.

Workshop chairs: Werner Pillmann, Ji?í H?ebí?ek