In the past months, the University of Oran 1 (Algeria) and University of Twente (Netherlands), two partners of the SEED4NA consortium, collaborated in the MAPSPADES research project, funded under the EO Africa R&D Facility.

Desertification is a major environmental issue that threatens many parts of the globe. Algeria is one of the most affected countries, with nearly 40% of its steppic area classified as vulnerable to desertification. The steppe is of great strategic importance as it forms a natural buffer between the Sahara and the fertile lands of the north. The MAPSPADES project aimed to map, monitor and analyse the desertification in the steppic region in Algeria using earth observation data. Specifically, the project developed a workflow to reveal the main spatiotemporal evolution patterns of this problem over the last two decades (2002-2022) and expose its most prevailing driving factors.

More details of this research at https://bit.ly/3Kqu6JP