"43% of the EU surface is covered by forests and wooded areas. These surfaces constitute a set of fragile ecosystems that contribute to the fight against global warming. When managed sustainably, they are a major source of wealth and provide people with many services. Wood is the forest product that comes to mind spontaneously, but forests provide a whole variety of non-timber forest products (NTFPs), such as cork, resins, and edible products such as nuts, mushrooms and truffles. These NTFPs play an important role in improving the livelihoods of people living near forests who are involved in their harvesting, processing and trade.The ""MEDLENTISK"" project wishes to promote the exchange of good practices around the Mediterranean on the little-known lentisk tree and its fixed oil. It is still produced in a traditional way, which influences the yield and quality of the extracted product. The composition and therapeutic virtues of this oil have also been little studied, even though this shrub is found throughout the Mediterranean area and seems to have significant qualities. In order to do so, 6 partners from the South, East and North of the Mediterranean Sea have come together to improve interest and access to scientific and practical knowledge on lentisk tree’s fixed oil.The partners will meet 3 times to increase their level of knowledge on mastic tree, to exchange good practices and challenges, and to discuss the problems and difficulties of this sector. Best practices will be identified, their synthesis and translation will then be summarized in easy-to-understand formats for good dissemination to all stakeholders.The results of the first exchanges will be shared during a side event during the 7th Mediterranean Forest Week to be held in Tunisia, in Sousse, from 22 to 26 March 2021."

FASTER will reinforce research and knowledge transfer capacity of INRGREF related to innovative land and water management in view of climate change and its implementation through the use of Farm Advisory Systems (FAS). To achieve this, we will develop a sustainable framework for research capacity building, international networking and FAS practice. Strengthening of researchers and technicians of INRGREF and associated centres (IRESA) will be developed by EU partners of established scientific excellence in the topic (CREAF, LU) and demonstrated experience in economic impact and awareness raising (EFB, Vision), and integration into national policies (AVFA). The proposal is structured into 5 work packages, during 3 years and amounting 1million €, including: coordination; capacity building through training and staff exchanges; living lab stablishing through summer schools, e-learning and stakeholder involvement; project sustainability by monitoring, networking and governmental support; and communication through awareness raising and knowledge co-creation. Expected impacts to INRGREF and Tunisian partners are increased number of publications in peer review journals, mobility and international co-funding, increased international reputation, awareness and engagement, new skills and competencies, new services and employment related to FAS, and new research avenues.

This project is aimed at a new technology for heating, cooling, air humidity control and water recovery in greenhouses as well as for drying of agricultural goods using thermo-chemical conversion principles based on the use of salt solutions (thermochemical fluids). The common effect in all applications is the hygroscopic property of thermochemical fluids, allowing an uptake of water vapor from air thus releasing sensible heat involved in the phase change. The technology allows to (1) use unexplored potentials of solar- and residual heat at farm level, (2) to convert and to store the heat into thermochemical potential without thermal losses and (3) to use the potential through re-conversion of the potential into heat within the above-mentioned applications. Within two different demonstrators in Central European Climate (heating) and Mediterranean Climate (cooling, water recovery and desalination) the technology will be tested, further developed and disseminated. Lab tests will explore the processes and materials involved, will include tests on material drying and on interactions between different applications. Development of improved knowledge on modelling of the involved processes, the simulation and control of specific applications and the development of control strategies are further tasks to provide a bright insight into the novel approach. Strategies to bring the technology to market will be developed. Thermochemical applications in agriculture have the potential to significantly reduce the energy consumption in greenhouse climate control as well as in crop drying and will provide an alternative to energy intensive water desalination in arid regions. The uptake, conversion and storage of solar heat from greenhouses even provides the perspective to turn protected intensive horticulture from an energy/water consuming to an energy/water producing method, allowing to secure the important market of food production and food processing and to extend it to new regions.