A New Approach to Improving Drought Resilience in Desert Ecosystem Restoration
Recurring drought and accelerating desertification are placing increasing pressure on dryland ecosystems, leading to reduced vegetation cover, soil degradation, and the decline of essential ecosystem functions. Under these conditions, ecological restoration—ranging from soil stabilization to the re-establishment of protective plant cover—has become both urgent and increasingly challenging due to limited water availability.
One practical response to this challenge is the use of deep root-zone irrigation, a technique that delivers water directly to subsurface soil layers where plant roots are most active. By reducing surface wetting, this approach helps limit water losses through evaporation and runoff while improving plant access to moisture under drought conditions.
Building on this concept, our research team has applied the pipe method as a targeted deep-irrigation solution. In this method, irrigation water is conveyed through a perforated pipe and released within the root zone, creating a deeper and more stable moisture distribution compared with conventional surface irrigation. This results in more efficient water use, improved soil moisture conditions, and stronger plant establishment in water-limited environments.
The findings show that the pipe method can contribute to more resilient restoration outcomes by combining water savings with improved plant performance.
Details of this work have been published in the journal Land Degradation & Development.
https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.70076

An interesting article worthwhile reading: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024EF005565

Sugiero la lectura del siguiente artículo, sobre todo para aquellos que están trabajando en zonas desérticas: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024EF005565

Saludos

𝑨𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 19𝒕𝒉 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔: 𝑼𝑵𝑪𝑪𝑫 𝑪𝑳𝑷𝒔 𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚-𝑫𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑾𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑺𝒐𝒊𝒍 𝑪𝒐𝒏𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

I had the honour of representing the UNCCD Community of Learning and Practice (CLPs) at the 19th World Water Congress, organized by the International Water Resources Association (IWRA) and held in Morocco from 1–5 December 2025.

On December 2nd, I presented a scientific poster entitled “Employment Intensive Investment Programme (EIIP) Strategy and Cooperatives for Water and Soil Conservation.” This innovative approach highlights how community-driven mechanisms, supported by adapted financial and cooperative models, can significantly strengthen water resource management and soil conservation efforts.
The presentation generated strong interest and sparked rich exchanges with international experts, practitioners, and development partners.

Beyond the poster session, I participated in several side events focused on:
🔹 Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
🔹 Innovation in water policies
🔹 Smart and efficient irrigation
🔹 Nature-based solutions for water and land resilience

I also had the opportunity to visit the Moroccan Water Museum, an insightful experience that provided a deeper understanding of the country’s hydrological history, current challenges, and long-term strategies for sustainable water management.

This participation proved extremely enriching. It strengthened technical knowledge, facilitated new collaboration opportunities, and highlighted the importance of community-based innovation for protecting water and soil resources, promoting sustainable development, and advancing resilience in the context of climate change.

MENA is turning to AI and digital innovation to enhance water reuse

IWMI’s e-ReWater MENA brought together experts to assess how AI and digital innovation can drive smarter, scalable water-reuse solutions across the region.
See the link: https://www.iwmi.org/multimedia/mena-is-turning-to-ai-and-digital-innov…

From last week to date, we have welcomed 11 new members into the Africa CLP, the highest intake we have recorded in recent months. This is a positive milestone and a sign of growing engagement across our community.
We warmly welcome all new members on board and encourage you to explore the various functions of the CLP portal, participate in discussions, and make full use of the resources available.
Let us keep the momentum going and continue strengthening our collective learning and collaboration.

Thank you!