Science and Technology: Essential Elements of Conservation – A Q&A With Gabriel A. Miller, Director of Technology

This is part two of our Future of Funding series, where we dive into the Paul G. Family Foundation’s work from the perspectives of the directors who are guiding how we invest in critical work in the environment, arts, and communities. You can read part one here. ?

Conservation is key to regulating climate change and preventing further biodiversity loss. We sat down with Gabriel A. Miller , Director of Technology for Vulcan’s Science & Technology team which advises and manages the foundation’s environmental portfolio. We asked him about technology’s crucial role in conservation. Here’s what he said about the intersection of science and technology, philanthropy’s unique abilities, the fascinating underground network of mycorrhizal fungi, and more.?

Your role at the foundation sits at the intersection of science and technology. How do you define these two terms and what role do they play in conservation??

Science is learning. Technology is action. I think of them as dance partners in a positive feedback cycle, each taking turns leading. Both are crucial for conservation. Both are needed for intentional change.??

To protect, restore, or conserve resources you must first understand them. New technologies, of course, empower the scientific process. Powerful fresh tools enable observation and measurement. For instance, we are partnering with the Puget Sound Restoration Fund on a comprehensive kelp forest monitoring initiative. We’re leveraging technology to build up critical knowledge about kelp. We start with simple questions: exactly where is kelp found? How many species live in each spot? How do these specific populations change? Dive surveys and new robotic underwater monitoring technologies are addressing these kinds of questions, and the answers will serve as the foundation for future protection and restoration efforts. Ultimately, lessons from the Puget Sound will help us improve and coordinate kelp monitoring beyond these waters.???

In other scenarios, technology goes beyond measurement to enable solutions. In a new grant focused on the illegal trafficking of pangolins (spiny anteaters), artificial intelligence will analyze patterns of seizures and arrests to make forecasts that allow law enforcement to avert future disasters before they happen, reducing illegal killing and trading of these critically endangered animals. Measure, analyze, predict, prevent— science and technology interlock in powerful, practical ways.???

What role does philanthropy play in advancing conservation????

Philanthropy can fill gaps between government and industry. For example, philanthropy works across national borders to fund solutions that single governments can’t. We can also fund projects that the private sector deems unprofitable. Importantly, philanthropy can also try things that might not work. Acceptance of risk is essential to both conservation and scientific progress.???

Perhaps best of all, we provide funds that can unite disparate groups to spark progress. A number of our efforts at the foundation utilize philanthropic dollars in collaborative projects with governments, private organizations, and academic institutions. For example, this year we partnered with the National Science Foundation to support conservation practitioners across the country through the Partnership to Advance Conservation Science and Practice. This first-of-its-kind partnership supports projects that connect academic research with practical conservation outcomes.??????

What are some of the biggest challenges facing biodiversity today, and how is The Paul G. Family Foundation funding science and technology to address them????

The scientific community generally agrees that the five primary drivers of biodiversity loss are habitat destruction, pollution, climate change, invasive species, and over-exploitation. The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation is funding projects that relate to all five of these drivers. One of our new grantees, the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), hopes to avert fungal biodiversity loss. Fungi represent one of the five basic kingdoms of life on earth, and yet we know shockingly little about them. There’s no real fossil record. We’ve characterized way less than ten percent. Fungi are difficult to study, and only recently has technology like metagenomics allowed us to take a closer look.????

Mycorrhizal (root) fungi have been around for hundreds of millions of years, shaping life on earth. They’re plants’ best friends. Their underground, nearly invisible network helps plants assimilate nutrients, absorb and retain water, fight against pathogens, and generally thrive. Critically, this network even influences the extent to which plants absorb carbon from the air.????

The first goal is to create the first detailed global maps of underground mycorrhizal (root) communities so that we can identify diversity hotspots requiring protection, especially networks crucial for carbon management. The team is also working to better understand their symbiotic relationships with plants and their roles in carbon cycling. All of this will be used to forecast threats to the diversity and functionality of these fungi. This could mean a massive leap forward in our understanding of global climate regulation. Not protecting them would be catastrophic.????

The current conversation around biodiversity loss can be grim. What are you most optimistic about????

Major strides in coral reef conservation give me optimism. The foundation is funding coral projects to devise and test groundbreaking solutions to coral threats. Collectively, our grantees are characterizing the genetic bases of coral reef heat tolerance and improving restoration methods. These efforts have the potential to help corals survive and even thrive as ocean water temperatures continue to rise. I’m optimistic that science and technology will continue to be helpful allies as we continue working toward biodiversity and climate solutions.?

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