The  desertification does not refer to the expansion of existing deserts, but it concerns the extreme vulnerability of dryland ecosystems to overexploitation and inappropriate land use, involving one-third of the world’s land area. 
Globally, 23 per cent of the land is no longer productive, and 75 per cent has been transformed from its natural state, mainly for agriculture. This transformation in land is landing at a faster rate. It is essential to know that desertification, land degradation, and drought (DLDD) directly affect everybody’s daily lives and that everyday actions can contribute to fighting it. 

Desertification and Drought Day was officially declared by the United Nations General Assembly as “World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought” (resolution A/RES/49/115). Every year, it is observed to promote public awareness of international efforts to combat desertification. The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCDD) announced the theme of 2022 “Rising up from drought together”. 

MEDISS is highly committed to this thematic.  Its programme includes the preservation, protection, and improvement of soil quality meanwhile fully exploiting waste resources within the production cycle. Cultivation and irrigation drain a significant amount of underground water resources and may alter soil salinization, leading consequently to land degradation. Therefore, the programme started its activity by providing soil analysis in the partners’ territories in order to work complying with the needs and requirements of each respective need. 
To share the work and results achieved so far by MEDISS, the Italian and Tunisian partners will participate in the International Conference on Soil and Water resources management for Combating Desertification in Drylands under Climate Change - SWDCC 2022 that will take place from 14 to 17 June 2022 in Djerba Island, Tunisia.

SWDCC 2022 promotes the major themes of Soil & Water resources assessment and management and the related challenges due to the degradation processes exacerbated by the effect of climate change.

Stay tuned with us. In the coming days we will present the SWDCC 2022.