MONALISA First General Assembly: Strengthening Collaboration for Sustainable Land and Soil Restoration Across the Mediterranean
22 October 2025 | CIHEAM Bari (Valenzano, Italy) & online
On 22 October 2025, the MONALISA consortium held its First General Assembly, hosted in Valenzano at the CIHEAM Bari headquarters and connected with partners across the Mediterranean in a hybrid format. The meeting marked an important milestone in the project’s journey to monitor, prevent, and reverse land degradation and desertification (LDD) while promoting sustainable land and soil management in vulnerable regions.
>Opening Reflections and First-Year Achievements
The meeting opened with warm institutional greetings and a keynote overview by Giovanna Seddaiu (University of Sassari), MONALISA Scientific Coordinator, who highlighted the consortium’s shared progress in advancing case study implementation across Mediterranean pilot regions, strengthening transdisciplinary collaboration between researchers, land managers, and local communities and progressing toward common frameworks for data, monitoring, and decision-support
An introductory video showcased the project’s core mission: bridging knowledge to practice for healthier soils and resilient landscapes.
>Case Studies: Local Innovation, Shared Learning
The second session featured updates from Case Study leaders working in diverse Mediterranean landscapes – from pastoral grazing areas to semi-arid rangelands and agricultural plains. The partners presented co-design and co-implementation approaches with local stakeholders, innovative grazing and rangeland management solutions, organic amendments and sustainable soil fertility strategies and water harvesting and irrigation efficiency solutions. These examples demonstrated how locally adapted measures are being developed and tested to prevent degradation while supporting livelihoods, food systems, and biodiversity.
>Expert Insights on Desertification and Restoration
Two guest speakers provided key inspiration and scientific grounding:
Victor Castillo (CEBAS-CSIC) presented on the renaturalization of intensified agricultural landscapes, addressing the often-hidden processes of land degradation.
Panos Panagos (European Commission, JRC) outlined ongoing EU-wide efforts to improve LDD assessment and monitoring, aligning MONALISA with broader European strategies and indicators.
Their contributions reinforced MONALISA’s role in strengthening evidence-based restoration planning and policy guidance.
>Advancing Monitoring, Modelling & Digital Decision Support
Technical sessions highlighted progress on LDD risk and sensitivity assessment methodologies, soil erosion modelling and trend detection, development of the Living Earth data environment, the MONALISA Dashboard and early testing of the Decision Support System (DSS) for scenario evaluation and practice selection. These digital tools aim to help practitioners assess land degradation risks, compare management options, and guide restoration strategies at local and regional scales.
>Communication, Community Building, and Joint Initiatives
The day concluded with updates on dissemination, networking, and community engagement. The consortium reaffirmed its commitment to building a Community of Knowledge that promotes shared learning. engaging youth researchers in climate and soil action and strengthening cross-project collaboration under the Soil Mission (e.g., TERRASAFE, NEMESIS)
>What Comes Next
Moving forward, MONALISA partners will focus on:
- Cross-project working groups on indicators, metadata, and stakeholder engagement
- Co-authored scientific publications and joint conference sessions
- Demonstrations of the DSS and dashboard with case study partners
- Continued co-design with land users, policy makers, and local communities
Together, the consortium is laying a data-driven, inclusive foundation for long-term sustainable land management across Mediterranean landscapes.
Access more photos from the event via CIHEAM Bari photo gallery on Flickr.
