Island Avatars: Simulating Social-Ecological Systems

This event will present how ETH Zurich and University of California Berkeley are working together to build the first full-scale simulation of a complex social-ecological system. The external page Island Digital Ecosystem Avatar (IDEA) is an open science initiative to build use-oriented simulations (avatars) of entire systems starting with the island of Moorea, French Polynesia. The Moorea IDEA is a sustainability simulator modeling links and feedbacks between climate, environment, biodiversity, and human activities across a coupled marine-terrestrial landscape. The resulting knowledge and tools will help predict human and natural change at scales relevant to management/conservation actions. Through exciting visualizations, the symposium will show progress to date in building this powerful new tool for scenario-based planning, education, and local population engagement.

In an era when society is seeking to transition to clean energy and sustainable economic growth, knowledge of the pathways to these futures is needed along with showcases demonstrating such change is possible. Examples are more likely to come from islands and cities than large regions and countries. Islands are disproportionately affected by global change and epitomize the coastal zones where most of humanity lives. They serve as models for continental regions and ultimately for our common island home: planet Earth.

The Consortium now includes more than eighty scientists and twenty institutions from around the world. Its efforts¡¯ are focused on a collaborative network of islands and cities: Moorea & Tetiaroa, French Polynesia; Crete, Greece, and the cities of Singapore and New York.