Interinstitutional Academic Partnerships

National Partnerships

Historically, the Program has been committed to strengthening its presence on a national scale. A milestone in this trajectory was the organization of the First North-Northeast Meeting of Graduate Programs in Geography (I SERNNE), held in 2009 in partnership with institutions from the North and Northeast regions. Coordinated by Prof. Christian Dennys Monteiro de Oliveira, the event aimed to discuss strategies for overcoming regional disparities and consolidating micro-regional research. Key outcomes included debates on research lines, funding strategies, regional collaborations, publications, and proposals for exchanges and agreements. The event continued in Belém (2010), João Pessoa (2012), and Porto Velho (last edition).

Building on this experience, the Program has maintained an active presence in subsequent meetings, reinforcing exchange strategies with national institutions at both regional and national levels. For the 2021–2024 quadrennium, one of the goals was to expand cooperation agreements with Brazilian institutions. Today, the Program maintains consolidated partnerships across the North, Northeast, and other regions of the country.

Within networked programs, the strengthening of PPGGeo has been supported by the consolidation of national research networks, with ongoing participation of faculty and students in projects funded by various agencies. A notable example is the uninterrupted involvement of the Program since 2009 in the Metropolitan Observatory Network, funded by INCT/CNPq.

At the state and municipal levels, several initiatives stand out, including technical advisory activities and the development of strategic and territorial planning documents, with direct involvement of Program faculty:

• Participation of Profs. José Borzacchiello da Silva and Eustógio Dantas in the analysis of Regional Planning Plans of Ceará, linked to the State Government.

• Preparation of the Public Use Plan of the Jericoacoara National Park (IBAMA), with contributions from Profs. Jeovah Meireles, Eustógio Dantas, and Edson da Silva.

• Coordination of the ORLA Project in Fortaleza (Municipality of Fortaleza), led by Prof. Antônio Jeovah Meireles.

• Coordination of the Implementation Project of the Sabiaguaba Conservation Area (Municipality of Fortaleza), with the participation of Profs. Antônio Jeovah Meireles, Eustógio Dantas, and Edson Vicente da Silva.

• Participation in the Pacto por Fortaleza Project (City Council of Fortaleza), involving Profs. Eustógio Dantas, Clélia Lustosa Costa, and Elisa Zanella.

In the current quadrennium, the Program has continued its tradition of strong interaction with public authorities and civil society. Faculty from the Urban and Regional Planning, Cartography, and Climatology laboratories (Eustógio Dantas, Maria Clélia Lustosa Costa, Alexandre Pereira, Jader Santos, Adryane Gorayeb, and Elisa Zanella) have been actively engaged in the development of strategic projects requested by state and municipal governments. Among these:

• Preparation of the Integrated Land Regularization Plans (PIRF 2019–2021) for the ZEIS areas of Bom Jardim, Pici, and Poço da Draga (Municipality of Fortaleza), developed by a multidisciplinary team with researchers from Sociology, Architecture, Economics, and Law.

• Development of the Coastal Ecological-Economic Zoning of Ceará (ZEEC 2018–2021), coordinated by the State Government, with participation from Profs. Jader Santos, Adryane Gorayeb, and a team of researchers from UECE.

All projects involved active participation of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as alumni of the Program, reaffirming PPGGeo’s commitment to academic training integrated with the practical application of scientific knowledge.

Highlights of national projects include:

I) Project approved under the PGPSE/CAPES Call nº 42/2014, coordinated by Prof. Jeovah Meireles in partnership with Profs. Luiz Antonio Cestaro (UFRN) and Lílian de Lins Wanderley (UFSE). The aim is to consolidate research on coastal environmental systems and contribute to sustainable development strategies.

II) Partnership with UFPA – Bragança Campus, initiated in 2010 with the inclusion of Prof. Adryane Gorayeb in the Program. In collaboration with Prof. Luci Cajueiro Carneiro Pereira (UFPA), three projects funded by the CNPq Universal Call (2011–2013, 2015–2017, and 2017–2020) were developed, focusing on watershed management and the impacts of climate change on riverside communities in Pará and Ceará.

III) Partnerships with UFF, strengthened by the arrival of Prof. Flávio Rodrigues (2016). Highlights include two projects:

• Collaboration among UFC, UFF, UFPA, and UNIFAP, funded by FAPESPA, addressing territorial planning in the context of major development projects in the Amazon.

• Collaboration among UFC, UNEMAT, and UFF, funded by FAPEMAT, focusing on fluvial dynamics and the impacts of hydroelectric plants on the Teles Pires River Basin (MT), with emphasis on geomorphology and geoprocessing.

IV) Agreement with UERR and UFRR (2012–2016), within the project Integrated Landscape Study of Watersheds in the Amazon and Semi-Arid Regions, coordinated by Prof. Edson Vicente da Silva. The project led to the creation of doctoral positions for faculty from these institutions and to the implementation of the DINTER UFC/UERR/UFRR program, which graduated 15 doctoral students in Fortaleza by 2017.

V) Partnerships with UFPA – Marabá and Altamira, with doctoral positions offered in 2013.2 for the qualification of Geography faculty. The works have been qualified and are expected to be defended by 2017.

VI) Partnership with UFRN in Geomorphology, between Prof. Rubson Pinheiro (UFC) and Prof. Francisco Hilário Rego Bezerra (UFRN). They collaborated on the Porocarste Project (Petrobras), with outcomes such as an international publication with Prof. Tomasz Boski (University of Faro, Portugal). In 2016, a new project was approved under the CNPq Universal Call (2017–2020), involving researchers from UFRN, the University of Wroclaw (Poland), and the University of Faro (Portugal).

Other strategic partnerships across Brazil include:

I) Agreement with IPPUR/UFRJ, within the Metropolitan Observatory Network (INCT/CNPq), involving research on the Metropolitan Region of Fortaleza and inter-institutional and international collaboration. Access to the METRODATA database has been a key advantage for comparative analysis of metropolitan regions.

II) Participation in the project Urban Climate and Dengue in Brazilian Cities, approved under CNPq Call nº 37/2013, coordinated by Prof. Francisco de Assis Mendonça (UFPR), with participation from Prof. Elisa Zanella. The research modeled urban dengue risk scenarios under climate change. It also included the postdoctoral fellowship of Gledson Magalhães, focused on Fortaleza.

III) Participation of Prof. Renato Pequeno in RECIME, the national research network on medium-sized cities, coordinated by Prof. Maria Encarnação Spósito (UNESP-PP), currently the main national geographic research network on the topic.

Beyond consolidated partnerships, the Program invests in the expansion of future national exchanges, such as:

• Cooperation with UNESP – Presidente Prudente, through the International Symposium on Watersheds, examination boards, and graduate internships at UNESP-PP laboratories.

• Joint activities with the Federal University of Santa Maria (RS), aiming at new agreements.

Innovation projects have also involved Program faculty, including:

I) Participation in the Chief Scientist Program, in its Environment and Agrarian Development versions (FUNCAP). In the first case, between 2022 and 2023, the project Planning, Creation, and Implementation of Conservation Units in Ceará was developed. Its success led to the approval of a new project entitled Conservation and Sustainable Development Strategies in Priority Conservation Areas in Ceará (2023–2025), both coordinated by Prof. Jader de Oliveira Santos, responsible for adapting participatory methodologies (social cartography) in the development of management plans for six major state conservation units, including the Pacoti River APA and the Baturité Massif APA.

II) In 2024, the subproject Developing Dual Territorial Affectation began, coordinated by Prof. Jeovah Meireles and implemented in Tatajuba, a district of Camocim.

III) The projects Cristal DOM (Petrobras/Shell) and Cliff Risk Assessment of Landslides in Pipa and Barra de Tabatinga – RN, coordinated by Prof. Rubson Maia.