MONALISA

MONALISA will launch a transdisciplinary approach to integrate scientific and local knowledge, stemming from new social learning spaces and established with multisectoral stakeholders and multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary researchers. Work will focus on six Mediterranean case studies (CS), covering various aridity levels across five countries (Italy, Spain, Greece, Tunisia, and Palestine).

In the CS, the following solutions will be assessed and expanded to prevent and restore degradation:
(i) innovative grazing systems (e.g., adaptive multi-paddock grazing systems);
(ii) microbe-based solutions (e.g., biofertilizers and nitrogen-fixing symbiotic rhizobia);
(iii) conservation agriculture practices (e.g., cover crops and reduced tillage);
(iv) ecological restoration practices (e.g., collection and sowing of residual plant materials in protected grasslands, green infrastructures);
(v) water harvesting techniques;
(vi) reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture.

One of the main outcomes of MONALISA will be a multi-modular decision support system aimed at practical applications, consisting of various web-based tools leveraging innovative data such as remote sensing and artificial intelligence.

MONALISA will focus on new business opportunities with (and not just for) stakeholders, considering cost-benefit and market analyses and promoting public and private investments. The primary goal will be to promote and adopt sustainable and environmentally friendly solutions for degradation while supporting economic growth in arid European and Mediterranean regions.

Medenine Case Study (Tunisia) and Asterousia Case Study (Crete)

Project Information
Grant agreement ID: 101135916
Total cost: €7,325,993.75
EU Contribution: €6,991,831.25
Start date: 01.09.2024
End date: 31.08.2028