The vision

The acceleration of science and technology breakthroughs in fields such as synthetic biology, evolutionary biology, genetic engineering and artificial intelligence are creating more tools than ever to influence the structure and function of entire ecosystems. By employing these tools, scientists believe that it will be possible to assist or confer new traits to existing ecosystems, restore ecosystems that are in decline or to create entirely new ecosystems with novel functions. In short, by adopting tools from the most advanced scientific fields that exist now and in the future, it is possible to envision a future where essential functions for humanity, such as water purification, disease mitigation, food production and manufacturing, are undertaken by self-sustaining ecosystems powered by sunlight and water – to the benefit of all.

At GESDA, we have termed this vision for a sustainable and ecosystem-enhanced future “eco-augmentation”. Specifically, we consider eco-augmentation as any activity that leads to:

1. An increase in the diversity (i.e. heterogeneity) within – or of – ecosystems
2. An increase in the functions of ecosystems.

The challenge

The extraordinarily complex nature of the myriad ecosystems on Earth, from the community of micro-organisms which live in our guts to the tightly interconnected ocean and terrestrial systems, mean that our understanding of how to use the tools for engineering biology and what their effects may be is lagging far behind our ability to act. This highlights the importance of addressing our current knowledge gaps to avoid catalysing undesirable change or missing key opportunities. Understanding how networks of biological and physical entities within any given ecosystem interact and evolve will be crucial for unlocking the potential of shaping ecosystems for global good and for making informed decisions about the risks and benefits of introducing new factors into an ecosystem.

The opportunities

In order to realise the vision of a future enhanced by eco-augmentation, it will be essential to take a wholistic, systems-change approach which embraces anticipatory global governance, a world economy that recognises and is reactive to the value of complex biological ecosystems, and the acceleration of the generation of knowledge for how ecosystems at any scale – both natural and synthetic – function and evolve. When considering global governance, existing international treaties on biodiversity and ecosystems preservation, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity established in 1992 and the two complementary international agreements, the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits, have been overtaken by advances in science and technology and are no longer able to act as adequate guides for governing activities related to biological ecosystems. For example, the Nagoya Protocol does not have any provisions for the regulation of digital biological information such as DNA sequences, so issues of ownership, privacy, compensation and licensing are all left to individual actors.

As new technologies and assets are identified and developed, this problem is only becoming more acute, hindering the effective, equitable and inclusive deployment of technologies and approaches for ecosystem preservation, restoration and enhancement. Furthermore, there is a need for concrete definitions of robustness and complexity of functioning ecosystems which would be necessary for the creation of a bioeconomy. Finally, the many researchers engaged in understanding ecosystem dynamics and function have emerged from separate communities to those developing tools that could be used for direct intervention. Bridging such gaps between diverse fields of research would immediately open new possibilities for understanding ecosystem structure and function, and ultimately accelerate our ability to design rational interventions.

A proposed solution

Any solution which acts to accelerate eco-augmentation must:

1. Advance science and technology breakthroughs that transform the way we understand ecosystems and how we could act on them by bringing together diverse research communities, reconciling the latest approaches in ecology with advanced molecular techniques, and combining new powers in mathematical modelling with a deep understanding of evolutionary forces.
2. Incorporate an inclusive, forward-looking approach to establish an updated, future-proof mechanism of global governance for biodiversity monitoring and ecosystem restoration.
3. Embed a financial and economic system that provides the incentive and business case for private sector involvement, that can extend even beyond the scope of the specific solution. The creation of conditions for a biodiversity economy are needed to kick start a positive feedback loop for public-private development and deployment of eco-augmentation interventions.