World Bank Big Data Innovation

Academics, entrepreneurs, innovators, businesses, universities and nonprofits have a larger role to play than ever before in addressing global climate issues through the creation and implementation of solutions. The shift to climate-resilient economies can occur only if the millions of decisions which are made across the globe on a daily basis are taking climate change factors and effects into account. We need your help in identifying and developing big data solutions which can help better understand the impacts of climate change, address its connected issues and positively influence decisions.

Why big data?

In today’s world of mobile technology, social networks, pervasive satellite and sensor information, and machine-to-machine transactions, more data has been generated in the past two years alone in the form of big data than in all of the previous years combined. Data is becoming the lifeblood of many economies, and data-informed decision-making is more important than ever before. However, the ability to use data in development policy and decision-making processes has not seen the same progress. That is where you come in. Help us find solutions and analytical methodologies to use big data effectively so we can help inform climate-sensitive decisions across the globe.

“Recent work from the World Bank Group suggests that poverty eradication is possible even as countries deal with the impacts of climate change and implement policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. … While there are many uncertainties about the impacts of climate change, it is possible to inform decision-making given adequate tools.”– Stéphane Hallegatte, Senior Economist, World Bank Group Climate Change Unit

Join us

as we launch a global call to find big data solutions that address issues pertaining to two critical challenge areas:

1) Food: food security and nutrition

2) Landscapes: forestry and watersheds

Food: Food Security and Nutrition

One of the biggest ways in which climate change is affecting humanity is through the land and natural resources that we all depend on for food. Climate change will affect all four dimensions of food security: food availability, food accessibility, food utilization and food systems stability. It will have an impact on human health, livelihood assets, food production and distribution channels, as well as changing purchasing power and market flows.

Sub-Challenge:

FOOD SECURITY

For the more than 2.5 billion people worldwide who directly depend on agriculture for their livelihood, the availability of resources is a matter of survival. Impacts on agricultural production and prices—triggered by either gradual changes in long-term climate trends or more frequent and severe natural disasters—will affect poor people through food production impacts, higher food prices, and changes in rural incomes. Understanding and forecasting the agricultural production supply, quality and diversity, as well as where food loss is occurring across regions, will be significant factors in reducing human, environmental, economic and food security impacts.

Example areas of need:

1. Mapping or measuring the risks to farmers’ income throughout the food supply chain
2. Understanding and forecasting of the food supply chain, its vulnerabilities and food loss points

Sub-Challenge:

NUTRITION

Nutrition is another critical public health challenge that is expected to worsen with climate change. Global climate models suggest that by 2050, climate change will result in additional price increases of 5–25 percent for the most important agricultural crops—rice, wheat, maize, and soybeans—and that higher feed prices will result in higher meat prices*. As food prices increase, the risks of malnutrition and poverty increase. Additionally, seasonality, which is compounded by climate change, can have substantial effects on people’s nutritional status. Women and young children are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition as a result of seasonality. Despite the substantial nutritional impacts of seasonality, policymakers and program implementers are at times unaware of these effects owing to inadequate data.
*Nelson et al. 2009

Example areas of need:

1. Understanding, forecasting or raising awareness of constraints on food availability, affordability, and consumption, including local prices and seasonality
2. Linking seasonal food production and consumption with nutrition and health, including behavioral aspects, and identification of options for intervention

Landscapes: Forestry and Watersheds

The supply and quality of water sources in many countries across the globe are threatened by mismanagement and pollution, and it is becoming increasingly apparent that the health of our water supply is heavily regulated by forests. Moreover, climate change is altering forests’ ability to continue playing this role sustainably. The relationship between forests and water is a critical issue which will benefit from new big data solutions to help protect these resources and in turn increase our resilience to climate change.

Sub-Challenge:

FORESTRY

Forests are a rich source of Earth’s biodiversity, provide critical ecosystem services, and are unfortunately disappearing at an alarming rate due to increased global resource demand as well as climate impacts. Forests and trees stand at the intersection of many decisive challenges: protecting infrastructure; regulating water and climate; providing timber, paper and energy; and housing critical biodiversity*. Advances in technology have significantly improved our ability to observe and monitor forests. Data is crucial not only in monitoring, but also in providing actionable information to support the areas of the world most affected by land degradation. The ever-increasing pool of data sets and recent improvements in satellite imagery offer new opportunities to combat deforestation and drive sustainable development. Globally, about 2 billion hectares of degraded forest land could be restored to functional, productive ecosystems that help fight climate change.
*World Bank Group – Forest Action Plan FY16-20

Example areas of need:

1. Creating awareness, forecasting, or understanding of potential implications of climate induced changes on forest degradation at the regional level
2. Leveraging existing data like Landsat time series, forest carbon stocks, and/or remote sensing to characterize and combat forest degradation

Sub-Challenge:

WATERSHEDS

More than one in six people worldwide—663 million people—have no access to safe freshwater and climate change is only expected to make a challenging situation worse. Over 1.4 billion people currently live in river basins where the use of water exceeds minimum recharge levels, leading to the desiccation of rivers and the depletion of groundwater. Drought, arguably the biggest single threat from climate change, is a global threat. By 2025, it is estimated that two out of three people will live in a water-stressed area. For many countries, water scarcity is a fundamental challenge to economic and social development. Despite the fact that water basins are such a critical resource, not enough is known about them. From aquifers to river drainage systems, the gap in knowledge of hydrologic systems and their impacts on local ecosystems is large and universal. Technological advances are increasing knowledge and management of water usage in the urban and agricultural environments, yet there is a significant opportunity to apply data and technology to better understand water basins and the effects of climate change and to develop information tools for planning and management.

Example areas of need:

1. Providing forecasting and awareness of potential seasonal impacts of droughts and floods
2. Watershed modeling tools that include temporal functionality and erosion inputs

Who can participate?

This Innovation Challenge is open to individuals, students and entrepreneurs as well as start-ups, university labs, private companies, nonprofits and public sector agencies legally established in member countries of the World Bank Group (see: http://www.worldbank.org/countries).