Integrating geography for sustainable development: Insights from the 2025 International Workshop on Geography and Sustainability

The 2025 International Workshop on Geography and Sustainability, held in Xi’an, China, from 17 to 20 October, convened at a time of intensifying global challenges and renewed efforts to advance sustainable development. Under the theme “Geography for Sustainable Development: Interdisciplinary Perspectives”, the event explored innovative approaches to strengthening geography’s role in global and regional sustainability. Five key research priorities were identified, viz. integration of geographical methods; integration of geographical processes; integration of geographical regions; Coupled Human and Natural Systems; and regional and global sustainability. The conference featured several important international initiatives: the establishment of the African Chapter of the International Geographical Union Commission on Geography and Sustainability, the launch of Phase II of the Global Dryland Ecosystem Programme, and the signing of a cooperative agreement between the Geographical Society of China and the Egyptian Geographical Society. The wider discussions reflected a growing need to further develop integrated geography as a coherent discipline to better understand and respond to complex human natural interactions. It also called for aligning future research priorities with the proposed United Nations Centennial Goals for 2045, and for strengthening South-South collaboration and dryland research networks. These collective efforts aim to expand geography’s role in both knowledge and action for sustainability.