MONALISA Joins Regional Dialogue on Drought and Agricultural Resilience
On May 22, 2025, MONALISA was represented at the Regional Conference on Combating Desertification and Drought: Enhancing Agricultural Resilience to Extreme Weather Events through Natural/Small Water Retention Measures, hosted in Budapest, Hungary. The event brought together scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders from across Europe to explore actionable strategies for addressing one of the most pressing challenges in the Mediterranean region and beyond: the growing threat of drought and land degradation under climate change.
Dr. Daniela Smiraglia (ISPRA), participated in this important exchange, which focused on how scientific knowledge and best practices can support evidence-based decision-making. The conference served as a dynamic platform to discuss nature-based solutions, particularly small water retention measures, as a critical means of building agricultural resilience against extreme weather events.
The event, hosted by the OPTAIN project alongside the HUN-REN Centre for Agricultural Research (ATK), the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, and the General Directorate of Water Management (OVF), gathered experts and stakeholders from across Europe. Participants included policymakers, scientists, and civil society actors from countries such as Hungary, Slovenia, Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Turkey, and Serbia. The conference focused on how Natural and Small Water Retention Measures (NSWRMs) can improve agricultural resilience, enhance soil health, and address the growing threats of climate change, water scarcity, and land degradation. For more information on the event, visit website.
Throughout the day, panel sessions and presentations showcased case studies from across Europe, including national strategies from Spain and Turkey, illustrating successful NSWRM applications such as floodplain reconnection, side-branching, and community-led water retention projects. Particularly noteworthy were discussions on:
- The role of stakeholder engagement, especially with farmers, in ensuring successful implementation
- The importance of aligning EU agricultural and water policies to support sustainable farming
- The use of modelling tools for optimizing water and nutrient management practices
MONALISA’s presence at the event reinforced the project’s commitment to bridging science and policy. With its focus on sustainable land management and the prevention of land degradation, MONALISA shares the conference’s vision of using integrated, landscape-scale strategies to adapt to climate variability. Participating in such international forums also strengthens the project’s engagement with the Target Groups most essential to its mission: policy and decision makers and scientific institutions.
Through events like this, MONALISA continues to promote the exchange of insights, support dialogue among stakeholders, and contribute to sustainable, climate-resilient futures across Mediterranean landscapes.