Under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and guided by University of Molise, the IUCLAND project kick-off conference took place in Nanjing from 13th to 15th January 2016. IUCLAND is a project for International University cooperation on Land degradation in European-Asiatic countries.
Approximately 25% of the Italian territory is affected by land degradation, in particular the central-southern regions and the major islands (Campania, Molise, Basilicata, Puglia, Calabria, Sardegna and Sicily). In these areas the effects of climatic phenomena are weighted by “the unsustainable pressure on environment from human activities which are causing a reduction of biological and farming production and a progressive loss of biodiversity in natural ecosystems”.
Set up by the University of Molise (UNIMOL) within the ERASMUS+ program and led by Professor Claudio Colombo, the IUCLAND project was granted 954.000 euro by the European Commission. Thanks to this success, the University of Molise is placed among the highest Italian Universities for the quality of co-funded ERASMUS+ projects aiming to strenghten higher education institutions’ (HEIs) capabilities.
IUCLAND aims to set up six Summer Schools in partner Countries (Italy, Slovakia, Croatia, People’s Republic of China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan) open to students of the 11 project partner Universities as well as workshops led by local stakeholders (agricultural and business organisations, regional and local institutions etc.). Prestigious International HEIs, both european and asian, are involved in the project, for example the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
For three years, under UNIMOL’s guidance, partner organisations will work on the topics highlighted during the Conference in Nanjing: soil and water degradation, pollution, salination, deforestation, desertification, pesticide contamination and International-political problems.
The new ERASMUS+ program gives University of Molise a starring role within International environmental awareness.