About SESrg
Societies and Environmental Sustainability, research group hosted by Centre for Functional Ecology – Science for People & the Planet (CFE), TERRA Associate Laboratory, Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra (UC), Coimbra, Portugal, with an Extension at Universidade Aberta (UAb), aims to develop and promote research based in an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary vision, integrating the social sciences, environmental sciences and local/cultural knowledge, in order to emphasize the complementary dimensions of the socio-environmental phenomena and sustainability and contribute to the understanding of the overall complexity of ecosystems functioning. The group also develops a strong effort towards science communication and dialogues between science and the society, by promoting the articulation and convergence of knowledge, citizenship and reflexivity between science and everyday life and by highlighting the various dimensions of environmental issues and linkages with biodiversity and human societies.
In the last 5 years, the group reinforced its position within CFE, remarkably increasing the number of integrated researchers. In all, the group was highly productive in terms of the publication of books (9 international and 3 national) and book chapters. Also, the internationalization was strengthened through the organization of 18 international seminars and workshops, the collaboration with Brazilian, Mozambican and German Universities (with two formal protocols) and the integration in two international networks (Ibero-American Network of Sustainable and Healthy Territories and Development and Health and the Inter-University Sustainable Development Research Programme).
Overall, the group has contributed to the valuing of the socioeconomic and cultural dimensions of ecosystems and expects to strengthen internal and external networking through interdisciplinary research, communication and dissemination of science while reinforcing the dialogue between science and societies, integrating and promoting the pillars of Open Science.