At the SCERIN GOFC-GOLD workshop “Land Cover Change (LCC) and Extreme Events in SCERIN: Remote Sensing for Sustainable Management,” Dr. Ioannis Manakos (Information Technologies Institute, Centre for Research & Technology Hellas) presented the MONALISA project to a diverse audience from European and U.S. universities and research centres.
Dr. Ioannis Manakos (CERTH) opened with MONALISA’s mission: preventing and reversing land degradation and desertification (LDD) in Mediterranean and other arid–dry regions. The project advances and scales a portfolio of complementary solutions across pilot sites, including:
- Innovative grazing systems
- Microbial and organic soil amendments
- Conservation agriculture
- Ecological restoration
- Water harvesting
- Reuse of treated wastewater
Together, these interventions are designed to improve soil function, bolster ecosystem resilience, and support the livelihoods that depend on dryland landscapes.
The discussion following the talk clustered around three themes:
- Map products for the Mediterranean
Participants asked about the planned regional map products, their focus, spatial/temporal resolution, and refresh cadence and how these layers will be packaged for practitioners and policy users. - Input data and methods
Questions explored which datasets feed MONALISA’s monitoring and decision tools (e.g., Earth observation/remote-sensing layers, in-situ measurements, biophysical indicators) and how these data will be integrated, validated and updated over time. - Support for adopters
Attendees were keen to understand how the project will help farmers, land managers and policy makers choose sustainable, cost-effective practices, strengthen economic resilience in drylands, and access tools and evidence that inform policy and investment.
The presentation was well-received, with strong interest in collaboration on mapping, data sharing and validation across pilot landscapes. Several groups expressed enthusiasm for aligning case studies and exchanging methods once initial map products and toolkits are available.
