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TERRASAFE

@desertificationeu.bsky.social
136 followers 148 following 108 posts

Research project empowering local communities to combat desertification across Southern Europe and North Africa. Co-funded by the EU and UKRI. www.terrasafe.eu

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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
A new TERRASAFE study explores how people make sense of rural #depopulation. By understanding these narratives, policymakers can design rural interventions that are more likely to gain local support and deliver impact. Read the paper here: link.springer.com/article/10.1... #MissionSoil #HorizonEU
Text:  
Rural depopulation
A devastating loss?
A chance for re-birth?
Proof of structural neglect?

Image: abandoned dilapidated buildings in Italian mountains
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Thank you to everyone who stopped to share your thoughts with Marina at the event! #MissionSoil #HorizonEU
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
How many farms practice Regenerative Agriculture in the Mediterranean? It's hard to know. TERRASAFE researcher, Marina Alarcon de Anton (Wageningen), shared her PhD progress on a new framework for understanding the adoption of Regenerative Agriculture at the Soils for Europe conference last week.
Marina Alarcon de Anton stands in front of her poster presentation "How Regenerative are Mediterranean Farms? Developing an Index-Based Framework for Management Scoring and Farm Assessment"
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
#MissionSoil #HorizonEurope
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Across Europe, record-breaking temperatures this summer are an urgent reminder that we need to nourish and nurture the land differently. We're working with communities to build healthier soils that are better able to withstand this challenging new era of climate extremes. Follow us to learn how.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Our new desertification newsletter is out, featuring an interview with Mark Schauer, Co-coordinator of the Economics of Land Degradation Initiative (ELD) about why calculating the value of land is a pragmatic way of saving nature. Access it here:
terrasafe.eu
Our latest TERRASAFE newsletter is out | TERRASAFE
by Deborah Talbot | Jun 26, 2026 | News | 0 comments
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
On World Environment Day, June 5th, our team in Tunisia went to an event organised by the Ministry of Environment in Tunis. Events like this remind us why we are doing this work! #soilscience #soilhealth
Large hall with a red carpet, featuring stalls and a crowd networking.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
We have a new blog out, all about soil salinisation and why it's such a problem for Tunisian oases! We also showcase the vital work we are doing with farmers in the region to tackle the problem. Read here: terrasafe.eu/2026/06/11/d... #soilscience
terrasafe.eu
Desertification and soil salinisation in Tunisia: why does it happen and what’s the solution? | TERRASAFE
by Deborah Talbot | Jun 11, 2026 | Blog, News | 0 comments
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
Join us for a free World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. Our new AgroTechHub is bringing together partners to discuss all things desertification and how we can build resilient land systems. Register here: buff.ly/kVPLUgq
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
No matter where you are, people want healthy environments, good facilities/opportunities and food security. Our blog explores visions of the future from five European rural communities: Read here: buff.ly/pdMUybk #desertification #soilscience
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 13/05/2026
Dan Popescu, Manager of Renasterea Padurii in Romania, explains why land has become degraded in their region - and what they are doing about it. #desertification #afforestation
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Combatting land degradation in Romania #agriculture #agritech #desertification #afforestation
Dan Popescu, Manager of Renasterea Padurii, talks about how land became degraded in Romania and what they are trying to do about it. The organisation is a key stakeholder in TERRASAFE's innovation…
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 06/05/2026
It's surprising how similar our collective aspirations are. We looked at community visions across our five pilot areas and found people want more economic diversification, to work with the environment, thriving services and much more. Read our blog to find out more: buff.ly/fUyGe5M #rurality
terrasafe.eu
Community visions of desertification resilience | TERRASAFE
by Deborah Talbot | Apr 24, 2026 | Blog | 0 comments
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Our team in Murcia, Spain spent a day implementing their soil remediations and planting carob trees. We hope both may provide a solution to #desertification, leading to rich plantations and a new viable crop. Want to know more about carob? Read our blog! buff.ly/wiFubS5 #soilscience
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Using land productivity monitoring tools tools, farmers can see whether poor yields are due to climate stress or suboptimal land management. For governments, it can guide policy initiatives. Read our blog to find out more: buff.ly/xklImx3 #soilscience
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
The UNCCD recommends analysing long-term data using long-term metrics, overall producing a map of land health. This monitoring is one of the key tools for tracking and combating desertification. In our blog, we explain what land productivity is and how trends over time are monitored.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
Land productivity is a concept that explains how healthy land is - is it able to produce biomass, such as forests, grasslands, or crops. When land becomes less productive, it can be a sign that desertification is happening. But how do we assess whether productivity is declining? #desertification
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 06/04/2026
TERRASAFE works with communities in five sites across Europe & N Africa to test innovations tackling desertification. Follow us on our journey of improving soil health & food security through our newsletter. Click on the link below or use the QR code & scroll down. #soilscience terrasafe.eu
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
Farmer José Méndez, from Murcia, Spain, talks about how creating a network of small basins in the soil can help to hold excess water on the land, benefitting water management and soil moisture. #soilhealth
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Soil experiments in Murcia, Spain #agriculture #agritech #desertification #drought #farming
During our visit to Murcia, Spain, last year, we saw local experiments in soil and rainfall management. Here, farmer José Méndez takes about how creating a network of small basins in the soil can…
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Our team in Cyprus have been busy setting up field experiments with ecochar - a soil restructuring agent and only needs to be applied once. Here, we see them applying the ecochar, installing soil moisture sensors and beginning the process of crop monitoring. #desertification #soilscience
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
In this blog, Rosanna Salvia and Giovanni Quaranta look at different strategies to revive rural economies and landscapes. #soilscience #desertification buff.ly/qYKgUbx
terrasafe.eu
How can we reduce depopulation-driven desertification? Policy recommendations | TERRASAFE
by Michelle Kilfoyle | Jul 15, 2025 | Blog | 0 comments
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
While improving soils and forests are important to reversing desertification, we must understand and tackle the social aspects of landscape decline. We need solutions to encourage people to stay on the land and build thriving rural communities.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Across Mediterranean countries we are seeing an exodus of people from rural areas in search of better opportunities. As rural communities depopulate, we lose knowledge to sustain local agricultural economies. The land becomes barren and lifeless. And, as a result, food security becomes an issue.
Image of a farmhouse behind a field, with text overlayed.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
To ensure change happens in agriculture, we need to team up with other organisations and programmes. That's why TERRASAFE has joined the AgroTech Hub Cluster Group - to connect with like-minded #HorizonEU projects. Come to AgroTech's first webinar: www.f6s.com/agrotech-hub... #soilscience
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Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) @ieep.eu · 06/03/2026
🎴 Depopulation as a driver of #desertification with the loss of these people, we also lose knowledge of how to sustain vibrant agricultural landscapes. Read these policy recommendations by @desertificationeu.bsky.social 👇
terrasafe.eu
How can we reduce depopulation-driven desertification? Policy recommendations | TERRASAFE
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
So today, on International Women’s Day, we celebrate their contribution to creating context-specific innovative solutions to climate change-induced desertification. You can find about all these great researchers and scientists, and what they do for TERRASAFE, here: terrasafe.eu/who-we-are/
terrasafe.eu
Who we are | TERRASAFE
TERRASAFE includes 13 framework and pilot area partners, alongside 5 innovation partners.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
This figure alone shows the central role that land rights for women could play in tackling desertification. TERRASAFE is a truly gender representative programme, with women leading and working across the academic and implementation teams.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
According to a 2024 report by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, women produce up to 80% of the food in developing countries, but own less than 20% of the land globally. This affects their ability to prepare for droughts as well as apply innovations to combat desertification.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 04/03/2026
Our innovation testing is underway in the Kebili (Tunisia) pilot area with farmers. In Tunisia we are implementing three innovations: a wood-based gel product that stores water (Agrobiogel), an artificial soil product (CETIM) and a compost production system from Isotech. #desertification
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Follow us or sign up to our newsletter @ terrasafe.eu to learn how impactful they are. #desertification #horizoneu
terrasafe.eu
TERRASAFE | Combatting desertification with innovations for empowering communities in Europe and North Africa
TERRASAFE is a major 5-year research project. Our overarching goal is to significantly empower local communities in southern Europe and northern Africa to confront the growing threats of…
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
People involved in this project believe it will enhance education, promote environmental awareness and create a sense of togetherness. TERRASAFE is dedicated to finding real, cost-effective and sustainable solutions to desertification through a variety of innovations.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
We selected Zero Kilometre because it builds on agricultural resources, existing school facilities, and local interest in sustainable food practices. It involves schools, municipal administrations, families, local farmers & food producers, & associations promoting sustainability & education.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
Amenities that bring people together are critical. So the second project that we are testing in Italy is the Zero Kilometre school canteen.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
In Italy, TERRASAFE chose to focus on the role of community among the factors driving desertification in Italy. How could we encourage more cohesive and thriving rural areas, resisting trends towards land abandonment and population decline?
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 25/02/2026
The role of rural community in soil health and food systems is as important as finding innovative technical solutions. Why? Because thriving communities take care of the land as well as proving for resilient food systems. In some cases, it is the most important factor in desertification.
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 18/02/2026
One of our pilot areas is Italy, where physical pressures of desertification have been exacerbated by a decline in populations and land abandonment. We have chosen therefore to focus on community. Read more here buff.ly/00jqMgM
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 11/02/2026
What does desertification feel like to those coping with it? Spanish farmers José and Juan work with TERRASAFE researchers to implement innovations to combat desertification, and here they talk about what's happening to the landscape as desertification accelerates. #desertification #climatechange
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
Carob is the new future-food - nutritious, tasty and, because it can survive on just 250 millimetres of rainfall per year, a crop than can be grown in dryland areas. Head over to our blog to read all about this new superfood 🍪 terrasafe.eu/2026/01/30/c... #desertification #superfoods #farming
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 28/01/2026
The floods in Valencia, Spain in 2024 showed that drought and floods come together as #climatechange impacts. In Murcia, Spain, José Méndez has developed a tool to create dips in the earth that can help prevent run-off. #desertification #EUHorizon
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 21/01/2026
José and Juan are two of the farmers working with TERRASAFE researchers on strategies to combat desertification. In this video, they talk about why it's so important to work with others to learn, and what saving the soil means to them and future generations. #desertification #soilscience
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Delivering meaningful change to combat soil degradation requires a transdisciplinary approach - working across research disciplines and through non-academic ideas and people. This briefing note beings together lessons from recent EU-funded projects. buff.ly/st0hHTv
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Our latest blog, written by placement student Andrew Arkle, looks at three initiatives to reverse dertification - the Great Green Wall (Africa), the Loess Plateau (China), and Ningxia Hui (China). buff.ly/9IpAI7y #soilscience #innovation #horizoneurope
terrasafe.eu
Green walls and straw checkerboards: Global efforts towards reversing desertification | TERRASAFE
by Deborah Talbot | Dec 11, 2025 | Blog, News | 0 comments
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
Call for abstracts! Deadline 15th Jan - ‘Innovations to assess, combat and prevent land degradation and desertification’ We are convening a session at the EGU26 Assembly in Vienna, 3-8 May 2026, and we'd love to receive proposals for contributions. See more details on LinkedIn: buff.ly/z72pA9g
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 02/01/2026
We’re proud to tell you about ISOTECH’s Circular Compost Scheme in Cyrpus, whose symbiotic green waste management system turns garden and pruning waste into high-quality compost. Local farmers are co-owners, they bring in green waste and take back compost for free. #TERRASAFE #HorizonEU
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 25/12/2025
Happy holidays and a wonderful New Year to everyone!
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
It locks carbon into the soil, reducing CO₂ emissions and strengthening climate resilience. Ecochar is being tested in Cyprus, Romania, and Spain. #TERRASAFE #Ecochar #Biochar #SoilRestoration #Desertification #HorizonEU #ClimateAction
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
Imflorestal’s Ecochar is a biochar-compost mix developed by Imflorestal to restore degraded soils, reducing the need for water and fertilisers. This soil enhancer boosts root growth, improves water retention, and helps cut fertiliser use by up to 40%.
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York Environmental Sustainability Institute (YESI) @yesiuoy.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Our Director, @proflinds.bsky.social, had a great week representing @desertificationeu.bsky.social at a UNCCD CRIC23 joint side event. Key discussions on #landtenure, #gender, #drought, #finance + Rio synergies in combating land degradation. YESI at the heart of global environmental policy! 🌍🌱
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 12/12/2025
Read our latest bumper newsletter to find out more about our progress and community engagement on TERRASAFE. terrasafe.eu/news/newslet...
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TERRASAFE @desertificationeu.bsky.social · 10/12/2025
Retentis is the gel developed by Agrobiogel, one of the innovations being tested in the TERRASAFE project. In the TERRASAFE project, Retentis is being tested in Cyprus, Romania, Spain, and Tunisia, places where water scarcity and land degradation are real challenges.
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Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) @ieep.eu · 05/12/2025
As Member States begin the process of transposing the directive into national law, three Horizon Europe projects—TRAILS4SOIL, EUROSION, and @desertificationeu.bsky.social —have started generating the tools, data, and governance models that can support implementation.
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