Approval of the MONALISA project

The MONALISA project (MONitoring and Assessing prevention and restoration solutions to combat desertification in LIving labs for achieving Soil heAlth), coordinated by the NRD center and specifically led by Prof. Giovanna SEDDAIU, a faculty member of the Department of Agriculture, has been funded by the Horizon Europe program under a call from the European Soil Mission addressing the theme "Desertification and Land degradation." The project also involves Prof. Giovanni Garau and Dr. Antonio Pulina, both faculty members of the Department of Agriculture.

The project boasts 20 partners and an overall budget of 7 million Euros; it is expected to span 48 months, commencing likely in September 2024.

The primary goal of the project is to demonstrate socio-economic and environmental effectiveness and promote the adoption of innovative and context-specific solutions across a range of site-specific situations in Europe and the Mediterranean basin (six study areas in Italy, Spain, Greece, Tunisia, and Palestine) to prevent and mitigate soil degradation and desertification processes. Researchers from 8 European countries (Italy, Spain, Greece, France, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland, Denmark) and 2 non-European countries (Palestine and Tunisia) are participating in the project.