MONALISA at EGU2025: Advancing Solutions for Desertification and Land Degradation
The EGU General Assembly 2025, held in Vienna, attracted almost 21,000 attendees from 120 countries. The event saw a total of 18,934 presentations across 1,102 sessions, with 56% of the abstracts being contributed by Early Career Scientists (ECS). It provided a vital platform for scientists to exchange ideas, showcase innovations, and foster global collaboration.
Among the key presentations was Francesca Assennatto’s (ISPRA) participation, where she presented the MONALISA Community of Knowledge initiative during session Innovations to assess, prevent and combat land degradation and desertification, including organic farming solutions. This session focused on addressing the critical issues of land degradation and desertification, caused by unsustainable land management practices and climate change. These challenges severely impact land’s capacity to support vegetation, produce food, and sequester carbon, threatening the livelihoods and traditions of local communities.
The session aimed to foster the exchange of knowledge and experiences on assessing and mitigating land degradation, with presentations ranging from Landscape Function Analysis and UAV surveys for slope stability, to micro-catchment water harvesting and machine learning-based procedures for scaling restoration measures. One of the key highlights was the introduction of the MONALISA and TERRASAFE projects’ Communities of Knowledge and Practice, which are dedicated to sharing innovations and best practices for tackling desertification.
The MONALISA Community of Knowledge initiative encourages collaboration by bringing together stakeholders from various sectors to share methods, tools, and strategies for soil degradation mitigation. It emphasizes community-driven solutions tailored to Mediterranean drylands and aims to foster long-term partnerships.
With participation in events like EGU2025, the MONALISA initiative continues to gather momentum, together with experts from around the world to address critical environmental issues and pave the way for a more sustainable future.
