Complementary Green Innovations for a Sustainable Future

The first National School on Green Innovation and Sustainable Development of the Human Environment in linkage with the UNESCO MAB Program was held in 1968 in the Pieniny Mountains region of the oldest border park in Europe, on the border between Poland and Slovakia, and the first International School in this field focused on environmental health, biodiversity and circular bioeconomy was organized in 1973, followed by more than 50 years of problem-solving lifelong learning. This education was oriented on transdisciplinary cooperation among experts and common action with knowledge-based society including exchange of good practices from different countries for integration of new methods for early detection of environmental risk factors for human and animal health and biodiversity, supplemented by dissemination of innovative technologies (including laser biotechnology) for better prevention and reduction of environmental contamination and sustainable management of natural resources, adopted to climate change – in particular water management, including a model area introduced by the Krakow Water PLC. These activities are aimed at compliance with Directive 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and of the Council, ensuring compliance with its provisions by introducing modern and innovative technologies for water treatment while at the same time ensuring a sustainable future for healthy drinking water supply for the residents of the city and region of Krakow. At the same time, measures are being taken to apply renewable energy sources and the principle of circular economy. Artificial intelligence (AI) solutions are also used in these activities, especially in the field of energy savings. AI solutions may also be augmented with advanced numerical simulations backed by high performance computing (HPC) resources available to scientists via national and international HPC centers. The same methods may be used by commercial entities utilizing public cloud providers. The chapter presents solutions in this area, based on good practice as the case study of the Krakow water supply. Complementary green innovation includes laser biotechnology for better adaptation to climate change, including both sustainable management of water and greening cities focused on environmental health and integration of local society.