ENEA, the Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment, is a public institution operating in the fields of energy, the environment and new technologies to support competitiveness and sustainable development.
The BAS (Biotechnologies, Agro-industry and Health Protection) department comprises a wide range of expertise concerning biological, agricultural and environmental aspects.  These skills are involved in research activities and in the development and application of technologies and processes for environmental protection in order to provide answers to complex problems caused by human activity impacts.
The “Combating Desertification” Group mainly deals with integrated research activities aimed to understand the cause-effect relations related to drought and desertification in the very act of development on the national territory.
The Group studies and develops innovative methodologies of analysis for detecting end monitoring physical and environmental parameters strictly related to drought and desertification.
A special attention is paid to those local study-cases which encourage the promotion and sustainable use of natural resources. Innovative methodologies of risk analysis and land characterization are encouraged as well as the involvement of every local actor (administrators, social parties, research institutes, and association and productivity sectors) in order to identify reliable actions.

ENEA Activities within the DesertNet II Project

- DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEM
A prototypal Decision Support System (DSS) will be developed. It will be based on a numerical simulator that relies on GIS data and functions. The DSS will provide a user-friendly graphical environment that will allow the evaluation of the interactions between desertification and the different options available in the management of natural resources.
The DSS will cover a sample area that will be identified on the basis of a set of indicators of the risk of desertification. Guidelines for the use of the DSS will be produced.
The DSS will be integrated with the Desertnet service platform. Project partners will be asked, by means of suitable questionnaires, to express their interest and suggest possible further application to specific contexts.

- PROMOTION OF CITIZENS SENSIBILIZATION AND DIFFUSION OF RESULTS
An evaluation will be done of the activities related to the participation and sensitization of citizens carried out within the Desertnet Project using the EASW methodology. A network will be created relating these with similar activities (e.g., those carried out within the Desurvey Project). Its aim will be to favour synergies and stimulate the perception of desertification risk and the active participation of citizens and stakeholders into the decision-making processes.

Project referent

Massimo Iannetta
ENEA - Ente per le Nuove Tecnologie, l'Energia e l'Ambiente
Responsabile Gruppo BAS BIOTEC-DES - Lotta alla desertificazione
Via Anguillarese 301, S.Maria di Galeria, 00123, ROMA
Tel: +39 6 3048 3339
Fax: +39 6 3048 6025
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.enea.it
www.riade.net