Information and communication technologies for biodiversity conservation and agriculture

The idea for this book was generated during a scientific workshop, in January 2009, which was organised in cooperation with the Club of Rome, European Support Centre, in the course of the FP7 support action ICT-ENSURE at the UNESCO Paris. ICT-ENSURE is analysing the importance and potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in the area of environmental sustainability. This support action is linking different European expert communities from various environmental sustainability fields, like e. g.: climate change, sustainable use of natural resources, environmental risk management, energy efficiency, health, quality of life, agriculture, biodiversity and others. Scientific surveys conducted in the different fields, in combination with a number of workshops, are the basis for assessing the current importance of ICT application and the future research demand in the area of ICT for environmental sustainability. By approaching this diverse field of research from a trans-disciplinary point of view, synergies can be discovered and communication between different expert communities, from technical and non-technical backgrounds, is supported. At the ICT-ENSURE workshop in Paris experts from different European countries discussed the significance of Information and Communication Technologies in the areas of biodiversity, agriculture and agrodiversity. Due to the fruitful discussions between experts from different backgrounds it was decided to compile this book covering different aspects of ICT application in this field in order to create a basis for further discussions and scientific exchange.