The Cyprus Institute joins partners worldwide in marking the World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought. Proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1994, the Day is observed every 17 June to raise awareness and promote the implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The 2025 theme, “Restore the Land, Unlock the Opportunities,” highlights how healthy land and soils underpin food, water, jobs, and climate resilience.

 

The Cyprus Institute has been working on multiple fronts to combat this threat through research projects that promote land-restoration actions in cooperation with farmers and local and national authorities. Researchers are developing nature-based, social, and technological innovations to restore soil organic carbon in the Mesaoria Plain (TERRASAFE); rehabilitating and assessing the effectiveness of terrace agroecosystems in the Troodos Mountains (PRIMA-REACT4MED); and testing integrated fertiliser–irrigation strategies for olive groves irrigated with recycled treated water (SAFE-H2O-FARM).

 

Today we are also delighted to announce that our colleague, Dr Christos Zoumides, Research Scientist at the Energy, Environment and Water Research Centre, is the winner of the UNCCD–GWP–IDRA photo competition “Solutions that Inspire Change: Building Drought Resilience Together,” in the Technological & AI Solutions category.

 

The winning photo, “Smart Irrigation for a Thirsty Land,” depicts soil-moisture sensors linked to a solar-powered weather station. Data from these measurements are supporting the efficient use of irrigation water. Research findings (see Siakou et al., 2021) showed that regulated deficit irrigation practices could achieve over 30% reduction in irrigation water use while maintaining yield and oil quality, proving how precision agriculture converts information into resilience.

 

“Every drop we save today secures livelihoods tomorrow. This award proves that technology and tradition can thrive together in the Mediterranean,” said Prof. Adriana Bruggeman, Head of the Water Department at The Cyprus Institute.