UNESCO Chair on Sustainability presents AI-based WEFE Nexus approaches at SmartAgri workshop in Tunisia

Dr Jordi Morató, Director of the UNESCO Chair on Sustainability at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), participated in the International Workshop on Smart and Sustainable Agriculture in a Changing Environmental and Economic Landscape, held in Sousse, Tunisia, from 9 to 11 April 2026.

The workshop, chaired by Prof. Ali Gharsallah from the Microwave & Electronics Research Laboratory (MERLAB) of the Faculty of Sciences of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, brought together researchers and practitioners working on smart agriculture, sustainability and climate-resilient resource management. The invitation highlighted the previous collaboration developed under the bilateral SURENEXUS project as “fruitful and scientifically enriching”.

In his presentation, “AI for WEFE Nexus: Strengthening Climate Resilience & Water-Smart Irrigation”, Dr Morató introduced the SURENEXUS approach to addressing interconnected challenges of water scarcity, climate change, resource conflicts, biodiversity decline and policy barriers through an integrated Water–Energy–Food–Ecosystems (WEFE) Nexus perspective.

The presentation showed how artificial intelligence can support predictive modelling, scenario analysis, decision support and technology selection for climate-resilient agriculture.

Special attention was given to the SURENEXUS AI WEFE Nexus Tool, developed through participatory co-design, SDL/SDLPS modelling and the NECADA Digital Twin environment, with the aim of making trade-offs between water, energy, food and ecosystems more transparent for stakeholders and policymakers.

The session also presented practical SURENEXUS Socio-Ecological and Technical Systems, including treatment wetlands for winery wastewater reuse in Catalonia, solar desalination and water harvesting in Tinos, precision citrus irrigation in Morocco, and underground irrigation for olive crops in Tunisia. These examples illustrated how nature-based solutions, bioeconomy practices and AI-supported modelling can help reduce implementation risks and support more adaptive, evidence-based governance.

Through this participation, the UNESCO Chair on Sustainability reinforced its commitment to Mediterranean cooperation, water-smart agriculture and the use of transparent, human-supervised AI tools to support climate resilience and sustainable territorial development.

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