ICTA UAB News

Biosphere reserves, allies against deforestation in the Western Amazon

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:59:52 +0200

Biosphere reserves help curb deforestation in the Western Amazon and, taken together, have prevented the loss of more than 7,400 square kilometers of forest over the last two decades compared to similar scenarios without this protection status.

Global North-South income gap has widened dramatically

Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:51:58 +0200

The income gap between the global North (the advanced economies of the core) and the global South (the developing economies of the periphery) has increased by between 170% and 270% since 1960, according to a study by ICTA-UAB, recently published in the journal New Political Economy.

Ceramic vessels reveal how social inequalities were also cooked into 19th-century Brazil

Thu, 23 Jul 2026 11:54:28 +0200

Fish, shellfish, maize, manioc, rice and even chicken eggs. Molecular residues preserved in more than 180 ceramic vessels from southern Brazil have made it possible to reconstruct what different communities were cooking more than a century ago, showing that access to food varied according to the origin and social status of their inhabitants.

A map to find out whether your neighbourhood is at risk of climate gentrification

Fri, 17 Jul 2026 12:04:17 +0200

Extreme heat is not only making cities less liveable; it is also reshaping who can afford to live where. The highest levels of vulnerability to climate gentrification are no longer found in the urban core, but in the metropolitan periphery.

Indigenous peoples play a key role in the conservation of seagrass meadows

Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:08:46 +0200

Recognizing and strengthening the role of Indigenous Peoples in the stewardship of seagrass meadows is essential for the conservation and restoration of these ecosystems. This is the main conclusion of a review conducted by researchers at the University of Helsinki and ICTA-UAB, recently published in Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability.

The UAB Barcelona Summer School kicks off with the participation of ICTA-UAB"

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 11:52:19 +0200

On 22 June, the UAB welcomed students participating in this year's UAB Barcelona Summer School. There will be, in this ninth edition, more than six hundred people from 48 different nationalities from five continents. Once again, ICTA-UAB is involved in the project.

More than 90% of the key nutrients degrading the Mar Menor come from recirculated underground flows

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 11:36:37 +0200

More than 90% of the key nutrients degrading the Mar Menor, such as ammonium, phosphorus, and silica, do not come from streams or continental groundwater, but rather through a mechanism that has so far been overlooked: water from the lagoon itself infiltrates the sediments and re-emerges loaded with nutrients that have accumulated over years.

Most Europeans see economic growth as essential for a sustainable future

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 11:17:48 +0200

Most Europeans citizens consider economic growth a necessary condition, rather than an obstacle, for advancing towards a sustainable future, according to new research by ICTA-UAB published in Nature Communications.

ICTA-UAB research inspires the new edition of the CCCB’s ALIA educational program

Wed, 01 Jul 2026 12:13:52 +0200

ICTA-UAB will be the scientific partner of the new edition of ALIA, the educational program of the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), aimed at students in the fourth year of secondary education and the first year of upper secondary education. The program brings together scientific research, the humanities and artistic creation to address some of today’s major challenges.

Andre Colonese receives an ERC Proof of Concept grant

Tue, 30 Jun 2026 12:00:33 +0200

ICTA-UAB researcher Andre Colonese is one of the 182 high-level scientists to receive an ERC Proof of Concept grant in this first round of 2026. The NAIVE project will identify animal species from fragmented biological remains using artificial intelligence, with the aim of improving biodiversity conservation and combating illegal wildlife trafficking.