The internet of things : a killer app

for global environmental

sustainability?
Tony Vetter
Global Connectivity, IISD
Outline
IISD
What is sustainable development?
How does it link to IoTs?
Networked Governance
Sensor Web
What are the challenges?
Data Management
Internet Governance
The International Institute for Sustainable
Development (IISD)
Founded by Canada in1990 in response to the
Brundtland World Commission on Environment
and Development
Non-profit, non-governmental research and policy
institute working on:
Trade and investment
Climate change and energy
Natural Resources Management
Measurement and Assessment
Reporting on International Negotiations
Global Connectivity
150 people located in more than 30 countries
What is sustainable development?

Integrated perspectives
Economic Governance
Environmental Innovation
Social / Cultural Communications

Brundtland definition: Sustainable

development is development that meets the needs
of the present without compromising the ability of
future generations to meet their own needs.
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Source: WWF Living Planet Report 2008 i 5
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Source: WWF Living Planet Report 2008 b 6
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Source: WWF Living Planet Report 2008
l 7
Sustainable development and technology

Two concepts: Limitations and

possibilities
the limits that the worlds ecosystems may reach
as a result of the state of technology and social
organization
the possibilities for sustainability that result from
changes in technology and social organization
Technology, in particular communications
technology, is supporting and changing how we
organize our governing systems, our economies,
and our cultures in unprecedented ways.
What is Networked Governance?

Emerging patterns of ICT-enabled interaction that

are transforming
Economic, social and government structures
(the information economy and society,
wikinomics, etc.)
Communication among individuals, groups and
communities (social networking, web 2.0, etc.)
Interactions between natural and artificial
environments (the Internet of Things,
ubiquitous networks, etc.)
 I
n
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"A billion people interacting e with a million e-
businesses, with a trillion r intelligent devices
interconnected (Lou Gerstner, n CEO IBM, 1995)
By 2015 there will be 1etrillion sensors linking the
physical and digital worlds* t merging to become an
Internet of Things o
list of applications is limited only by our imagination
f
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*RFID: Why we need a European policy, EU RFID 2006 Conference: Heading for the Future, Brussels, 16 October 2006
 Applications Empowered by Internet of Things

Global Environmental Observation Global Action / Management Plans

GIS systems Early Warning Systems

Global
Atmospheric Famine / Drought
Vegetation / Ground Water Natural Disasters
Surface / Water Temperature
Environmental Mitigation
GHG Tracking Carbon-trading
Consumption metering Conservation Planning
Atmospheric measurements
International Agreements
Reporting Systems Ratification
Mash-ups / SOA / Web 2.0 Implementation

Observation Implementation
Local Environmental Observation Local Action / Management Plans
Capacity building Resource Management
Local

Awareness of threats Access / Allocation

Identifying impact Enforcement
Data Entry Support and Funding
Web 2.0 / Wiki data logs Professional Development
Appropriate Technology Response Planning
SMS / Mobile Phone usage Early warning response
Cultural adaptation Conflict avoidance
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*Environmental Monitoring with Mobile Phones (Accra, Ghana), Intel Research in California
 S
Neil Gross, "The earth will don an electronic e skin," BusinessWeek, August 1999
In the next century, planet earth will don an electronic skin.
m
It will use the Internet as a scaffold to support and transmit its sensations.
This skin is already being stitched together. a It consists of millions of embedded
electronic measuring devices: thermostats, pressure gauges, pollution detectors,
cameras, microphones, glucose sensors, n EKGs, electroencephalographs.
These will probe and monitor cities and t endangered species, the atmosphere, our
ships, highways and fleets of trucks, our conversations, our bodies--even our
dreams. - i
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*Semantic Sensor Web Project @ Knoesis Center, Wright State University - Dayton, Ohio
 Internet as a tool for social homeostasis*

Homeostasis: set of processes that organisms use to

regulate their internal environments
constantly monitoring environments and changing
behavior based on feedback
Internet of things will enable refined, user
empowered, environmental monitoring, both locally
and globally

*World Economic Forum, Network of Global Agenda Councils - Future of the Internet
 U
s
Integrate IoT sensory streams into e the web
contributing real-time info as "Wiki Pages"

r
Users "look-up" information about the objects, events or places of
interest interactively P
a they observe
add intelligent interpretations of what
add to content to improve accuracy, or other useful information in the
"Wiki" spirit r
record sensor streams for assessmentt and characterization of situation or
event of particular interest to a specific community
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 D
a
data stove piped lack of integration
data without knowledge lackt of info and knowledge
management systems a
sensor data needs to be contextual
spatial, temporal, and thematic
C
W3C and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standardization
efforts h
a
useful information while ensuring privacy
ensuring data accuracy l
preventing sensor tamperingland system misuse
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 I
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For the internet to act as a medium for
e
homeostasis mechanisms, r
it needs to
be free, open, uncensored,
n accessible,
multilingual e
Support universal connectivity
t
Goal: allow bottom G
up, vertical and lateral
information flows
o
Technology neutrality (un-tethered)
v
IPv4 and IPv6 must effectively cohabitate
e
Freedom of cross boarder data flows
r
n
For further information on IISD ICT
& SD activities, contact:
Heather Creech, Director Global
Connectivity
Program (hcreech@iisd.org)

Tony Vetter, Project Officer, Global

Connectivity
Program (tvetter@iisd.org)