April 23rd-28th, 2017, MRU Prof. Paulo Pereira chaired a session at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) General Assembly 2017 that was held in Vienna.

The session, "Environment Science, Public Perception, Stakeholders and Policymakers," was convened by Prof. Pereira with co-convener Panos Panagos.

This session aimed to bring together studies focused on the communication of scientific results to the public, stakeholders and policy-makers and their perception about environmental problems. Only understanding their vision about environmental challenges, we understand what science needs to know and communicate and how it should be done.

Communication of scientific information to the public and stakeholders is always a challenge for researchers.

It is important to tackle this problem and bring together scientists, the public, stakeholders and policy makers and find a common ground to discuss the knowledge produced by science. As a society, this is one of the major challenges that exists.

This assumes special importance in a world where population growth is unsustainable and the impact of human activities is unprecedented.

The pressure of anthropogenic activities has changed the climate on a global scale. It has induced a huge pressure on ecosystems and increased the area affected by land degradation.

These problems are mainly observed in less developed countries, where small shifts in environmental conditions can produce huge impacts in society and the economy. It often results in migrations, conflicts, and hunger.

Science has the answers to these questions, but it is important to communicate this in a language understandable not only to the public, but to stakeholders, and policy-makers as well.

The EGU General Assembly in Vienna next year will bring together geoscientists from all over the world to discuss issues relating to planetary, earth and space sciences. It's a forum where scientists, can present their work and discuss ideas with fellow experts in all fields of geoscience.