The Forest Research Centre (Centro de Estudos Florestais – CEF) was represented by several of its researchers at the Tropical Summit 2024, an event that brought together researchers from all over the world to debate solutions to the most pressing challenges facing tropical regions.
“Foreseeing Answers to Global Challenges” was the theme of this year’s Tropical Summit, the first to be held in Portugal, which took place at the Lisbon Congress Centre between 4 and 8 November 2024. This international event brought together leaders from all over the world to discuss the most pressing challenges in tropical regions, focusing on four thematic areas: Planetary Health, Agricultural Development, Territorial and Social Transitions, and Human Growth.
In addition to the participation of researchers from the Forest Research Centre (CEF), Ana Ribeiro-Barros and Solange Araújo, who were part of the Organising Committee, several other CEF members were present, reinforcing the importance of multidisciplinary collaboration and the implementation of concrete solutions for tropical regions.
The CEF’s contributions included the participation of Isabel Marques, a researcher from the ForEco group, who chaired the session “Genetic Diversity and Stability in Crop Domestication and Breeding”, Professor João Neves Silva, who led the session “Conservation, restoration and reforestation towards a sustainable future”, and Natasha Ribeiro, who was responsible for the session ‘“Tracking progresses in Agroecosystems”.
Paula Batista Santos presented the papers “Searching for lectin bioactivity in disposable products of Caryocar Brasiliense” and “An Integrated Approach to Explore the Bioactive Potential and Cultural Importance of Pequi Fruits in the Brazilian Cerrado”, with CEF researcher Eduardo Leitão co-authoring the latter. There were also oral presentations by CEF researchers Ana Cuartas (“Urban Trees in public spaces. Heritage as Key to preservation of endangered species. Study case in Valle de Aburrá, Colombia”) and Ana Valentina Masso (“Assessing Climate Risks in Value Chains and Current Responses: A Case Study in Rwanda and Ethiopia”).
Among the doctoral students, Sofia Conde presented the work “Field fungi affecting mangrove swamp rice production in Guinea-Bissau”, and Sisgo Chinchilla presented his research “Ecosystem characterization for endemic Phaseolus species of Costa Rica”. Britta Kautzman presented the work “Sustainable Aquaponics for Food Security in SIDS: A Case Study of São Tomé and Príncipe”.
Researcher José Ramalho presented the poster “CoffeeFlower – Global warming threatens coffee crop sustainability due to impact on fertility?”, a work co-authored with the researchers Ana Rodrigues, Isabel Marques and Ana Ribeiro. Researcher Paula Batista Santos also co-authored a poster entitled “Pequi, an emerging crop species from the Brazilian Cerrado: the terpene synthase gene family”. Cremildo Dias, a PhD student, presented his research on mapping burnt areas in the Niassa National Reserve in Mozambique, with the poster “Mapping burnt areas in the Woodlands of the Niassa Special Reserve, Mozambique, using a deep learning approach”.
As well as being part of the Organising Committee, researcher Ana Ribeiro-Barros organised the sessions “Value Creation Wheel 4 the tropics – powered by AI” and “Mobility Exchange in Research and Higher Education: Promoting Multilateral Clusters of Excellence”, and took part in the Closing Session of the event.
The collaboration of CEF PhD students Carolina Godinho, Inês Graça and Fábio Marcolin, who took part as volunteers and made an important contribution to the success of the event, should also be emphasised.
With more than 15 researchers playing an active role, the Forest Research Centre (CEF) consolidated its leading position in research and innovation on tropical ecosystems at Tropical Summit 2024, reaffirming its commitment to scientific advancement and global collaboration.