EcoDry

Duration

February 2014 - May 2017

Collaborators

University of Extremadura, Spain
University of Yucatan, Mexico
Stellenbosch University, South Africa
National Centre for Research and Development, Jordan

Eco-Dry was a 4-year €560,000 IRSES FP7 project that aimed to enhance understanding and share knowledge on agroecological strategies to build the resilience of farming systems in dryland and drought situations that included improving water management in general. The project was led by Dr. Julia Wright and brought together partners from the UK Spain, Mexico, South Africa and Jordan. The project, launched in December 2013 enabled early stage and experienced researchers from those countries to conduct field studies in partner countries for a month or longer.

Project Objectives

This joint exchange project aimed to enhance understanding and share knowledge on strategies to build the resilience of farming systems to natural and man-made impacts in dryland and drought situations, including climate change, through collaboration of joint research and capacity building activities between participating universities.

• To identify and build a body of knowledge on innovative agroecological strategies to mitigate threats of natural and man-made nature for drylands and drought.
•  To build a network of expertise on agroecological innovations through workshops, conferences and seminars.
• To provide opportunities for research on cutting-edge agroecological approaches in the natural and social sciences for postgraduate students.

Impact

Cooperation and exchanges between the different research centres across three continents enabled the testing of different agroecological practices and research and extension techniques in different contexts. These enabled the construction of common methodologies and approaches to address the challenges of dry lands and drought which is especially necessary in the current scenario of global climate change.

Check out some of the presentations from EcoDry's international partners: EcoDry Presentations

For more information on this project please contact Julia Wright