Nemesis joins AgroTechHub Cluster for Webinar on World Day of Desertification and Drought
Every year, on June 17th, the United Nations observe the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. This day is used to raise awareness of land degradation and drought and to mobilize action to protect and restore healthy land. Desertification and land degradation are urgent challenges for soil health across Europe and North Africa. This is particularly relevant in countries around the Mediterranean Sea, where around 70 % of land is vulnerable, due to a combination of aridity, overuse and poor land management.
Desertification is a type of land degradation that, if left unchecked, transforms fertile land into arid desert and can result from various factors, including climatic variations and human activities. In practice, desertification means the loss of land productivity for instance affecting the production of food which threatens the livelihood of millions of people. With over 60% of European soils classified as unhealthy and about a quarter of soils suffering from water erosion, a form of land degradation, Europe urgently needs strategies and solutions to tackle land degradation and desertification across countries.
This is why, this year, Nemesis joined forces with its sister project from the Mission Soil AfroGrow, Terrasafe, EarthOne, Landshift, and Monalisa, to discuss approaches and solutions to counteract soil degradation and desertification and make land systems more resilient. Ioannis Varvaris, Nemesis Scientific Coordinator, from the Eratosthenes Centre of Excellence in Cyprus presented the Nemesis Living Lab Network, discussing with the other projects and hosting a café talk discussion with the interested audience.
