Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions
May 2026
Ecosystem Technology (Ecotech): Harnessing Natural Processes to Address Global Challenges
Authors
Brian R. Silliman 
, Marc J. S. Hensel, Ralph J. M. Temmink, Avery B. Paxton, Daniel J. Wieczynski, Jean Phillipe Gibert, David W. Johnston , Devon Noonan, William N. Ferris, Mark E. Hay, Tiffany Paalman, Christy Cutshaw, Mark Borsuk , Christine Angelini, Laura E. Dalton, Johan van de Koppel, Jim van Belzen, Benjamin Strong, Mark D. Bertness, Thomas E. Angelini, Andrea W. Gutierrez, Mads S. Thomsen, Tigerlily Kaynor, Lydia Olander, Nicolas Cassar, Marte M. Stoorvogel, Tjeerd J. Bouma, Stephanie Wear, Tjisse van der Heide, Pedro Daleo, Shannon Parker, Akash Aithal, Rachel K. Gittman, Parker Silliman, Eric Wade, Dhruv Rungta, Tong Qiu, Liyin He, David S. Cerino, Qiang He, Jesko von Windheim, and Shila K. Nordone
, Marc J. S. Hensel, Ralph J. M. Temmink, Avery B. Paxton, Daniel J. Wieczynski, Jean Phillipe Gibert, David W. Johnston , Devon Noonan, William N. Ferris, Mark E. Hay, Tiffany Paalman, Christy Cutshaw, Mark Borsuk , Christine Angelini, Laura E. Dalton, Johan van de Koppel, Jim van Belzen, Benjamin Strong, Mark D. Bertness, Thomas E. Angelini, Andrea W. Gutierrez, Mads S. Thomsen, Tigerlily Kaynor, Lydia Olander, Nicolas Cassar, Marte M. Stoorvogel, Tjeerd J. Bouma, Stephanie Wear, Tjisse van der Heide, Pedro Daleo, Shannon Parker, Akash Aithal, Rachel K. Gittman, Parker Silliman, Eric Wade, Dhruv Rungta, Tong Qiu, Liyin He, David S. Cerino, Qiang He, Jesko von Windheim, and Shila K. NordoneType
Pages
Publisher
Over the past 80 years, biotechnology has advanced agriculture, healthcare, and economic development by harnessing biological processes from the organism inward (i.e., from the organ system to the molecular scale). Today’s global challenges, including biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution, demand a complementary technological expansion inspired by processes operating from the organism outward (i.e., at the levels of populations, communities, ecosystems, and the biosphere). This review solidifies ecotech—Ecosystem Technology—as a conceptually-based technological science that blends techniques from diverse scientific fields and existing natural systems to build technologies powerful enough to relieve social struggles, increase economic resilience, and aid solutions to global environmental issues.
