The 2024 annual Tropentag conference, with the theme "Explore opportunities... for managing natural resources and a better life for all," was held in Vienna, Austria, featuring a workshop conducted by a faculty member from Shahid Beheshti University (SBU).
This conference was held in-person and online from September 10th to 13th at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) with the participation of 900 researchers from 85 countries. Tropentag is organized every year as an interdisciplinary event hosted by a European country.
Dr. Naghmeh Mobarghaei, a faculty member of the Environmental Sciences Research Institute of SBU, conducted a workshop titled "estimating the value of agricultural ecosystem services" on September 10, 2024, which was well-received by attendees.
Additionally, Dr. Mobarghaei presented a paper titled "examining the effects of climate change on Iran's national parks," which was co-authored with Dr. Houman Liaghati, also a faculty member at the Environmental Sciences Research Institute.
Dr. Hossein Mostafavi, another faculty member of the Environmental Sciences Research Institute, presented a paper titled “modelling the effects of climate change on river fish species in Iran as a global hotspot" virtually. Dr. Ali Akbar Matkan from SBU's Center for Remote Sensing and GIS also contributed to this research.
The main topics of this year's Tropentag conference included nine key areas: agroecology and sustainable resource management practices, livestock management and human welfare, food governance and nutrition, sustainable water management and fisheries, adaptation and resilience to climate change, forestry services, environmental and ecosystem protection, cross-cutting perspectives on natural resource governance, political, institutional, and economic challenges, and social and technological innovations for achieving sustainable development goals.
Keynote speakers from Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, Kenya, and the Netherlands delivered speeches at the conference. It is noteworthy that next year's conference will be held in September in Berlin, Germany.