Introducing ecotech, nature’s innovation accelerator

An international research team has developed a roadmap for an emerging field of technology called ecotech, which draws inspiration from nature to create scalable solutions to urgent environmental, social and economic challenges. The team describes this field, providing a comprehensive framework for its adoption and expansion, in the journal Science Advances on May 6. 

Led by Duke University researchers, the team argues that addressing climate change, pollution, biodiversity loss and economic instability will require innovations beyond the scope of biotechnology. Ecotech, short for ecosystem technology, provides a foundation for solutions informed by the environment around us.

“Biotechnology has transformed health and society through innovation inspired by the inner workings of organisms. Ecotech takes off from where biotech ends, drawing on interactions between organisms and their environment to design technologies that work with nature rather than against it,” says lead author Brian Silliman, Rachel Carson Distinguished Professor of Marine Conservation Biology at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment.

In other words, by studying how species operate within, and are affected by, their environments, scientists can develop technologies that benefit people and nature.

“For example, ecotech principles could guide development of offshore wind farms that support marine life and commercial fisheries. The turbine support structures could be fashioned from coral-mimicking material to invite commercially important fish larvae to settle and grow,” Silliman explains.

“Meanwhile, signaling devices could emit the natural sounds and smells of a healthy reef to entice corals and oysters to settle and help build the ecosystem,” he continues. “Additionally, by analyzing DNA shed by organisms in the water, researchers could determine the effects of the wind farm on biodiversity, or to monitor the presence of endangered whales in the area.”

Collaboration Across Disciplines

A hallmark of ecotech is interdisciplinary collaboration. By integrating approaches from biology, engineering and earth sciences, ecotech unites independently evolving technologies, leading to new fields of inquiry and inspiring innovation, according to the authors.

“The time is now for scientists to be working hand in hand with industrial and systems engineers, manufacturing specialists and investors to identify solutions for creating and sustaining ecosystems that not only work, but that can be feasibly and responsibly scaled to match the pace of ecosystem loss,” says coauthor Christine Angelini, vice president for environmental advisory services at the global engineering firm AECOM.

The rapid growth of biotechnology — a multitrillion-dollar global sector — suggests that ecosystem-inspired technology can be equally transformative, the authors note. However, they caution against innovating at scale without fully considering ecological and social consequences.

“Ecotech gives us the framework to guide tech innovation that builds ecosystems instead of undermining them,” says coauthor Marc Hensel, a research assistant professor at the University of Florida’s Nature Coast Biological Station, and former postdoctoral scholar in the Silliman Lab at Duke. “Biotech’s flaws have come through upscaling technologies without fully considering long-term ecological and ethical consequences. Ecotech is a top-down guide to channel bottom-up biotech ingenuity that is ethical and equitable.”

Consider the use of unoccupied aircraft systems, or drones, in research. Drones can collect valuable ecological data because they can maneuver into areas inaccessible or dangerous to humans — but they must be used appropriately, according to David Johnston, director of the Duke Marine Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab.

“Drones and sensor systems are transforming ecosystem science, but they present tradeoffs around disturbance, access, data use and responsible deployment. Ecotech helps us address those questions early, so rapid innovation benefits both ecosystems and society,” Johnston says.

Economic Potential

Beyond environmental benefits, ecotech has the potential to drive economic growth by creating new markets for restoration businesses and technologies, ecological and urban monitoring systems, and ecosystem‑inspired infrastructure, the authors suggest.

They add that unlocking the benefits of ecotech will require coordinated investment, public policy, and collaboration between universities, governments and industry. 

“Ecotech practitioners and business founders will need to demonstrate a viable path to triple bottom-line solutions for people, planet and profit, with a focus on business processes and funding mechanisms that give investors confidence that real value is being created over what may often be long development timelines with large investment requirements,” says coauthor Jesko von Windheim, the Lynn Gorguze-Scott Peters Professor of the Practice of Environmental Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Nicholas School.

The first institutions to strongly invest in ecotech accelerators could see significant benefits, according to Silliman.

“Ecotech can become for states and universities what biotech became for Massachusetts and MIT. It can help improve almost any industry, from agriculture, to urban planning, to manufacturing, to national defense to health care,” he says. 

“Humanity is entering an era where our survival depends on maintaining and increasing functional ecosystems,” Silliman adds. “By treating ecosystems as engines of innovation and life-sustaining functions rather than passive resources to exploit, ecotech offers a pathway to build a more resilient and sustainable future.”

Acknowledgement

This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation’s Engines program and funding from Duke University and partner institutions.