Human presence in polar regions debated at the 17th Portuguese Conference

Lusófona University hosted, on 14 and 15 November 2025, the 17th Portuguese Conference on Polar Sciences, under the theme “Humans in Polar Regions”. The conference integrated the international agendas of COMNAP, FARO and SCAR, strengthening Portugal’s contribution to the global debate on sustainability, security and human wellbeing in polar environments.

This edition placed a special emphasis on the social sciences, with a particular focus on psychology, without losing its multidisciplinary character. The conference welcomed contributions from areas such as Marine, Terrestrial and Atmospheric Environment, Cryosphere, Planetary Sciences, Resilient Infrastructures and Social and Human Sciences, promoting knowledge exchange and collaboration between researchers from different scientific domains.

Human presence in the polar regions, essential for research and international cooperation, continued to raise important questions about environmental impacts and human adaptation to extreme contexts. Thus, the meeting proposed reflection on the challenges and opportunities of living and working in these territories, encouraging an approach that reconciled scientific exploration, environmental sustainability and quality of life.

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Fernão Simões

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Rage da Luz