13 to 14 November 2017 / Maceió, Brazil
Training activities focus on a single discipline and attract many experts from a field. In this case however, the objective was to summon professionals from many fields, like biodiversity, agriculture, geology, law, computing, culture, space observation, meteorology and climate, to find solutions and sinergies for the ecoregion called Caatinga. Caatinga is a unique kind of vegetation adapted to the arid conditions in the north-east of Brazil, where millions of people exploit its limited resources. The 50+ participants included a group of students from the Federal University of Alagoas. They welcomed this mixed formula, enjoyed talking to experts from many areas, and were grateful for suggestions on a professional career.
Humberto Barbosa, main convener, considered the event a firm step forward in approaching user problems from a multidisciplinary perspective: The seminar on climatic and agricultural vulnerability will reinforce cooperation between national and international entities. The main result will be a reference programme for monitoring, training, methods and research for the Caatinga environment.’‘