Extensão do Centro de Ecologia Funcional da Universidade de Coimbra na Universidade Aberta | Artigos em revistas internacionais / Papers in international journals
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- When algorithms decide the climate: AI, disinformation, and the crisis of environmental truth in the AnthropocenePublication . Vidal, Diogo GuedesWe often describe the Anthropocene as a planetary emergency. Yet beneath the ecological upheaval lies a deeper and more destabilising fracture: the erosion of environmental truth [1]. By environmental truth, I refer to the collectively negotiated understanding of climate and ecological realities, shaped by scientific, social, and technological processes. Climate knowledge today is reported, debated, and contested, but increasingly it is computed [2]. Algorithmic infrastructures now decide what becomes visible, credible, and politically actionable. My argument here is direct: AI systems and digital platforms have become co-producers of environmental truth, and this reconfigures the very conditions under which climate policy, public debate, and democratic decision-making occur. The Anthropocene is as much a crisis of meaning as it is of ecology.
- Bringing the waters to CasablancaPublication . Fernandes, Carla Sofia Ferreira; Alves, FátimaDemographic pressures, economic development, and climate change affect water availability in Morocco, which is rapidly approaching critical water scarcity. Casablanca, the largest urban center, relies almost exclusively on water sources from other regions. The two primary sources are the surface water stations of Bouregreg, fed by the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah dam near Rabat, and the water from the Al Massira dam south of Casablanca. However, due to the decreasing precipitation levels caused by climate change, these water stations will soon fail to provide the level of water required. Therefore, various public and private actors are implementing measures to ensure the continuity of water supply in alignment with Morocco’s National Water Plan. Among the proposed water production solutions are the development of seawater desalination plants and the construction of a canal to transfer water from another river to the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah Dam. Unfortunately, these supply-side solutions can only be sustainable if they are complemented by the active enforcement of downstream measures, including improved water reuse efficiency and intelligent water consumption management.
- Opposing mastery, claiming the future: life and death beyond capitalist modernityPublication . Aldeia, JoãoCapitalist modernity accelerates the extinction of non-human species and leads to the contraction of human vital possibilities. Extinction has been the outcome of what Deborah Bird Rose called double death, i.e., a disruption of multispecies bonds that makes the death of individuals stop nourishing other individuals of other species, which results in a cascade of death. Double death stems from attempts of dominant classes to exercise mastery over other humans, non-humans and things, which has historically led to the establishment of hierarchical forms of socio-ecological organization. Although not all empirical hierarchies lead to death, the potential to kill is inherent to the principle of hierarchy because it is based on domination. In capitalist modernity, mastery has Cartesian and Utilitarian qualities that make double death particularly severe. However, since mastery is what causes the problem, opposing capitalist modernity is a crucial but insufficient step in the fight against double death, which requires ending the principle of hierarchy itself.
- O diagnóstico psiquiátrico como racionalização da classificação ontológica negativa dos sujeitos sem-abrigoPublication . Aldeia, JoãoDesde o final do século XX, a intervenção sobre a vida na rua é crescentemente medicalizada. Com base num trabalho de mais de 500 horas de observação direta, realizado numa cidade portuguesa de média dimensão entre 2010 e 2014, discuto como assistentes sociais, psicólogos, psiquiatras, entre outros atores da intervenção, compreendem a vida na rua como um problema de insuficiência ontológico-psiquiátrica de cada sujeito sem-abrigo. Nesse contexto medicalizado, o diagnóstico psiquiátrico é uma técnica de intervenção importante pois é através dela que o julgamento coletivo sobre a anormalidade de cada sujeito sem-abrigo é validado. Não sendo um momento de descoberta médico-científica dessa anormalidade, o diagnóstico oficial pronunciado por um psiquiatra é um instante em que a classificação ontológica negativa apriorística é racionalizada em termos médico-científicos. Através de procedimentos como o diagnóstico psiquiátrico, a medicalização invisibiliza as características estruturais da vida na rua, legitimando um modelo societal desigual e injusto que torna alguns sujeitos sem-abrigo.
- Climate change mitigation and adaptation in practicePublication . Leal Filho, Walter; Kovaleva, Marina; Dinis, Maria Alzira Pimenta; Luetz, Johannes M.; Alves, Fátima; Nagy, Gustavo J.; Yaffa, Sidat; Ayal, Desalegn Yayeh; Kalungu, JokastahClimate change represents one of the most pressing global challenges, with far-reaching consequences for ecosystems, economies, and societies. Driven primarily by human activities, notably fossil fuel combustion and deforestation, climate change has led to rising global temperatures, increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, sea-level rise, and significant disruptions to natural systems. These impacts pose serious risks to biodiversity, food security, water availability, public health, and economic stability. Addressing this multifaceted challenge requires an integrated approach that combines both mitigation and adaptation strategies. Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Practice brings together interdisciplinary research, case studies, and applied solutions that explore these complementary pathways. The volume examines strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, enhancing carbon sequestration, and implementing adaptive measures across key sectors, including agriculture, energy, urban planning, and water management. Emphasising real-world applications and collaborative approaches, the book highlights successful examples of climate action and underscores the role of scientific, policy, and social innovation in building resilience. By integrating technical solutions with governance and policy frameworks, this volume provides students, researchers, practitioners, and policymakers with critical insights and practical tools to support transformative climate action towards a more sustainable and socially just future.
- Future and nature stakeholder integration in climate deliberationPublication . Alves, Fátima; Vidal, Diogo Guedes; Bentz, J.; Ristić Trajković, J.Traditional participatory approaches are insufficient to handle the complexity of growing climate difficulties and threats to socioecological balance (Darwish et al., 2023). There is an increasing need to broaden climate discourse by including vulnerable and excluded social groups and conceptualizing how to merge nature representatives with future generations. Inclusive discussion increases the effectiveness of solving climate issues by relying on a diverse variety of information, experiences, and expertise, as well as embracing the interests and concerns of all impacted parties, including those who are not currently present (Vidal & Alves, 2024).
- Sea-level rise implication for human mobility: policy analysis for MoroccoPublication . Fernandes, Carla Sofia Ferreira; Alves, FátimaNeste trabalho, Sofia Fernandes e Fátima Alves do Centre for Functional Ecology - Science for People & the Planet, Laboratório Associado Terra da Universidade de Coimbra, e da sua Extensão na Universidade Aberta de Portugal, analisam como Marrocos está a reconhecer os impactos da subida do nível do mar, ao mesmo tempo em que as políticas públicas ainda não articulam estes riscos com estratégias de mobilidade humana, de planeamento territorial ou de proteção das comunidades mais vulneráveis. É um tema urgente e cada vez mais central para compreender as ligações entre as alterações climáticas, a adaptação e a justiça social.
- Protocol Registration. Climate Change and Health. Intercultural dialogue strategies between primary-care physicians and patients: a systematic reviewPublication . Ponte, Nidia; Alves, Fátima; Vidal, Diogo GuedesThis systematic review aims to map and understand the intercultural dialogue strategies developed between primary healthcare doctors and users from different socio-cultural backgrounds, in the context of the health impacts of climate change. The aim is to identify how these strategies have been conceptualised and described in the literature, and to what extent they can promote community resilience and reduce health inequalities. The rationale for this review lies in the recognition that climate change is a major global threat to public health, with disproportionate effects on socioeconomically and culturally vulnerable populations. At the same time, health systems—particularly at the primary-care level—face persistent challenges in responding equitably to the needs of increasingly diverse communities. While intercultural communication is acknowledged as a key dimension of care quality, its role in climate-sensitive health adaptation remains poorly understood and insufficiently integrated into public health planning. The protocol has been developed in line with PRISMA-P and PRISMA-S guidelines and is also registered with PROSPERO (ID: CRD420251038912). All supporting materials will be made publicly available via this OSF project.
- Climate change and health: intercultural dialogue strategies between primary-care physicians and patients : a systematic reviewPublication . Ponte, Nidia; Alves, Fátima; Vidal, Diogo GuedesClimate change represents one of the most serious global threats to public health, with growing impacts on morbidity, mortality and health inequalities. These effects are not evenly distributed, and people and communities in greater social and cultural vulnerability are generally the most affected. At the same time, health services face growing challenges related to the socio-cultural diversity of their users, especially in primary health care, where the first contact with the system is established. Although the scientific literature recognises the importance of intercultural communication in the quality of care, there remains a critical gap in research that systematically explores how intercultural dialogue strategies have been thought through and applied in the context of the health impacts of climate change. Most existing studies treat these dimensions - healthcare, intercultural dialogue and climate change - in a fragmented way, without considering their intersection or combined effects on equity and community resilience. This fragmentation requires the review to be conducted based on three thematic blocks linked to each other: healthcare, intercultural dialogue and climate change. This mapping by blocks will make it possible to identify the existing contributions in each axis separately, and then explore their convergences, gaps and potential for integration. Recognising this dispersion, this review takes a critical and reflexive approach from the outset, seeking to build an analytical cartography of the field, sensitive to the methodological and epistemological diversity of the studies included. This review is link to the registered https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/AXYDW.
- Sustainable futures: from causes of environmental degradation to solutionsPublication . Fernandes, Carla Sofia Ferreira; Alves, FátimaThe impacts of climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution influence the living experiences of the various members of communities that rely on agriculture, shaping the adaptation responses to those phenomena and actions towards sustainable development. This study aims to understand how members of rural communities in Morocco perceive the causes of environmental degradation and the solutions meant to support the reduction of the vulnerabilities by applying a sustainable development lens. To achieve those objectives, this empirical study collects qualitative data by conducting semi-structured interviews on the local population’s perceptions of environmental degradation causes and impacts, vulnerabilities, and solutions to adapt or cope with those impacts. The study includes a critical analysis of the proposals presented by the community members by addressing the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of their implications for development. The most common issue identified was water management, underscoring the water stress affecting several regions. However, several solutions presented would lead to further depletion of non-renewable water sources, which endangers the pursuit of genuinely sustainable development. The study’s conclusions highlight the importance of contextualising the communication and adaptation responses that address local perceptions, namely the low prevalence of perceptions attributing anthropogenic causes to environmental degradation, leading to sentiments of helplessness among members of the rural communities.