Call for papers
Climate change is one of the major challenges of the 21st century, impacting ecosystems, water resources, and global food security, threatening the resilience of societies. In this context, we must review our interaction with the environment and explore innovative scientific solutions to ensure a sustainable future. It is now widely accepted that human activities, including the overexploitation of natural resources (poaching, deforestation, overfishing, urbanization, etc.), have significantly degraded ecosystems and disrupted natural balances. Furthermore, the intensification of industrial activities has exacerbated global warming, leading to an increase in the average global temperature of +1.6°C in 2024 compared to the pre-industrial era (ERA5, 2025). The effects of climate change are becoming increasingly evident worldwide and have undeniably led to a critical loss of biodiversity.
Simultaneously, extreme weather events like intense droughts (devastating fires in Canada and California) and catastrophic floods (in Valencia, Spain) are more frequent. In Tunisia, recurrent droughts in 2020–2023 severely impacted crop yield, threatening food security and economy. Additionally, these changes are disrupting ocean circulation, leading to an increase in the frequency and intensity of cyclones (Cyclone Chido in Mayotte in the Indian Ocean).
Altogether, these disruptions lead to more energy consumption, depletion of water resources, soil and aquifer salinization, and often uncontrolled irrigation. Conversely, heavy rainfall causes damage to infrastructure, ecosystems, and crops. The dramatic consequences of climate change have highlighted the political, economic, and social problems that our countries must confront.
Sustainable management of energy and resources is essential to ensure food security, provide essential ecosystem services, and guarantee collective health and well-being. To this end, good governance is indispensable and requires the development of coordinated solutions based on scientific innovation, international cooperation (UNEP, 2022; FAO, 2023), and sustainability.
The conference “Climate Change, Environmental Challenges, and Energy Transition”, part of the 5th edition of the International Citizen Forum on Education and Interdisciplinary Research, aligns with this innovative vision by addressing urgent ecological crises through concrete and sustainable solutions.
Through three thematic axes — (i) water resource management, (ii) ecosystem resilience and food security, and (iii) sustainable and eco-responsible energy transition — this conference aims to foster open and constructive scientific dialogue to develop appropriate and mobilizing responses. This call for papers is an opportunity for researchers, experts, and practitioners to share their work, experiences, and recommendations in an interdisciplinary framework.
Main themes
1. Sustainable Management and Control of Hydric Systems: Regeneration and Resilience
- Restoration of wetlands, aquifers, and watersheds
- Coastal management and marine coast preservation
- Traditional solutions for rainwater harvesting and recovery
- Preservation of water quality (pollution, salinization, bacteriological contamination)
- Hydrological modeling and prospective scenarios in the face of climatic uncertainties
- Rational exploitation of surface and groundwater resources
- Best practices for better water resource economy
- Irrational practices and their impacts on the sustainability and quality of resources
2. Technological Innovations and Optimization of Water Resource Management
- Smart water management systems (remote sensing, GIS, artificial intelligence)
- Advanced techniques for wastewater treatment and reuse
- Use of thermal waters
- Artificial recharge of aquifers
- Artificial drainage for soil and ecosystem preservation
- Innovative and sustainable technologies to ensure water quality (microplastic removal, quaternary wastewater treatment, etc.)
- Smart irrigation
- Desalination and diversification of water resources
1. Mechanisms of Ecosystem Adaptation to Environmental Changes (Terrestrial, Marine, Riverine, Coastal)
- Adaptation strategies of ecosystems (marine and coastal, freshwater, forest, agricultural)
- Understanding adaptation mechanisms of extremophile organisms for better ecosystem resilience
- Modeling ecosystem resilience: adaptation and use of genetic biodiversity
2. Agroecology and Sustainable Agricultural Practices to Strengthen Food Security
- Regenerative agriculture to restore soil fertility and improve yields
- Agroforestry, intercropping, and diversification of agricultural systems
- Sustainable soil management
- Agro-ecological solutions for carbon sequestration
3. Sustainable Management for the Resilience of Natural and Agricultural Ecosystems
- Restoration of degraded ecosystems and biodiversity
- Importance of wetlands, forests, and grasslands in regulating the water cycle
- Rehabilitation of desert areas
- Sustainable management of agricultural landscapes
4. Technologies and Innovations for Sustainable Food Production
- Plant bioeconomy, genetic innovations, and biotechnologies to optimize the production of bioactive molecules and food (genetic diversity, varietal improvement, bio-inoculants)
- Biological control and biopesticides
- Use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and artificial intelligence for sustainable agriculture
- Integrated water management in agricultural systems: efficient irrigation techniques, wastewater reuse
- Cultivation under extreme conditions: saline agriculture and use of halophyte organisms
- Development of alternative food sources
- Sustainable production of plant-derived molecules
1. Technological Innovations for a Sustainable Energy Transition
- Disruptive renewable energy technologies (solar, wind, green hydrogen)
- Advanced energy storage (batteries, supercapacitors, thermal storage)
- Carbon capture, storage, and utilization (CCUS)
- Smart grids and decentralized energy management
- Artificial intelligence and big data for optimizing energy systems
- Nanotechnologies and innovative materials for energy efficiency
2. Renewable Energies and Integration into the Energy Mix
- Development of solar energy: photovoltaic, solar thermal, CSP
- Wind energy: offshore and onshore technologies
- Green hydrogen: production, storage, and industrial applications
- Integration of renewable energies into electrical grids
- Marine energies
- Sustainable exploitation of geothermal resources
- Tools for life cycle assessment (LCA) and analysis
- Modeling and simulation tools for energy systems
3. Bioenergy and Waste Valorization
- Production of biogas from agricultural, municipal, and industrial waste
- Second and third-generation biofuels
- Waste-to-energy conversion technologies: incineration, gasification, anaerobic digestion
- Pyrolysis and gasification technologies for biomass
- Circular economy in the energy sector
4. Energy Management Strategies and Mechanisms
- National and regional strategies to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Innovative financing mechanisms
- Sector coupling (energy, transport, industry) for effective decarbonization
- Energy optimization in industry and transport – carbon footprint reduction
- Urban planning for a resilient and low-carbon future
- Energy renovation of buildings and eco-construction
- Education, awareness, training, and community engagement