Water Harvesting Lab - UNIFI

09/10/2026

09/10/2026

On the field in

Giulio Castelli from the Water Harvesting Lab - UNIFI joined a mission in Burundi together with colleagues from the Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI UNIFI) and the UNESCO Chair in Agricultural Heritage Landscapes.

The team developed a course, co-organized by the International Rainwater Harvesting Alliance - IRHA, the University of Burundi, the NGO , and visited the pilot installations of in Bibare, developed within The World Bank Group's "Projet de Restauration et de Résilience du Paysage" - https://projects.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/project-detail/P160613

The mission also analysed some potential locations for the FAO Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) scheme, namely tea plantations, the marais flood irrigation system in the centre of the country and the lakes region in the north.

Stay tuned for more updates.

Our work in Burundi:

Piras, F., Santoro, A., Castelli, G., Allegri, M., Nijimbere, S., Hicintuka, C., & Preti, F. (2026). Is Burundi losing the last remnants of its forests? A high-resolution spatial analysis for the identification of areas at deforestation hazard. Trees, Forests and People, 25, 101243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tfp.2026.101243

Preti, F., Crocetti, C., Nijimbere, S., Nsabiyumva, J.M.V., Hicintuka, C., & Castelli, G. (2025). Soil and Water Bioengineering (SWBE) in Africa: First experience and lessons-learned in Burundi. Ecological Engineering, 212, 107510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.107510

Vianney Nsabiyumva, J. M., Apollonio, C., Castelli, G., Bresci, E., Petroselli, A., Sabir, M., Hicintuka, C., & Preti, F. (2025). Impact of Slow-Forming Terraces on Erosion Control and Landscape Restoration in Central Africa’s Steep Slopes. Land, 14(7), 1419. https://doi.org/10.3390/land14071419

03/10/2026

𝑵𝒆𝒘 𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒍𝒆: "𝑹𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍-𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒊 𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔: 𝑨 𝒎𝒖𝒍𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉"

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140196326002053

👉 In this paper, supported by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - Somalia, we analysed areas with the best biophysical potential for implementing and across seven arid regions in the country using a multi-criteria approach. Criteria and weights for the analysis were based on existing literature and expert consultation with FAO-SWALIM officers.

💧 Finally, the biophysical suitability of different catchments in the study area was evaluated, showing good potential in the north-western side along the eastern coast.

📌 This work maximises the potential of the FAO database, a valuable resource in data-scarce areas.

DAGRI UNIFI
Università degli Studi di Firenze

30/09/2026

Congratulations to Dr. Niccolò Renzi for is graduation in the official ceremony of the Università degli Studi di Firenze.

He graduated with a thesis on “Assessing the Environmental and Water Use Impact of Italian Agricultural Firms Using an Organizational-LCA Approach”, in the framework of the Agritech Center.

His thesis explores the use of Life Cycle Assessment-based methodologies for evaluating water sustainability and ecosystem services provision in Italian Agriculture.

Together with him, Professor Elena Bresci, coordinator of the PhD course in Sustainable Management of Agricultural Food and Forestry Resources and of the Water Harvesting Lab - UNIFI.



DAGRI UNIFI
Gesorafa PhD Unifi

23/09/2026

🌍💧 Closing the International “Water Harvesting in Sub-Saharan Africa”!

We wrapped up the course with an inspiring focus on flood-based water harvesting, exploring how floods can be transformed from a risk into an opportunity for farmers when the right knowledge and support are in place.

A big thank you to Prof. Eyasu Yazew Hagos and Dr. Tesfa-alem Gebreegziabher Embaye from Mekelle University for sharing their expertise and passion with us.


DAGRI UNIFI

16/09/2026

We are pleased to highlight the participation of PhD candidate El Farchouni Abderrahman in the 53rd International Association of Hydrogeologists - IAH World Groundwater Congress, held in , Hungary.

Abderrahman presented his research on groundwater recharge processes in the Central Haouz–High Atlas system, Morocco, integrating hydrogeological, hydrochemical, and stable isotope approaches to better understand recharge dynamics in semi-arid environments.

Abderrahman is conducting his PhD within the framework of a cotutelle between UM6P - Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and the Università degli Studi di Firenze (UNIFI).



DAGRI UNIFI
Gesorafa PhD Unifi

10/09/2026

Grateful to Instituto Humboldt for organizing this visit together with the Department of Physical Geography, Stockholm University and happy to have participated in it with our Eleonora Forzini!

A truly enriching exchange within the project Water4All – Disclosing the Overlooked Wetlandscape Ecosystem Services; with funds from Water 4all and the Swedish Society for Anthropology and Geography (SSAG).

The main objective of DOWES is to resolve the interlinkages between water availability in wetlandscapes, their responses and stressors, and the provision of ecosystem services within and beyond their area of influence, through synthesis across multiple wetlandscapes.

For more information: https://www.water4all-partnership.eu/project/dowes

DAGRI UNIFI

27/08/2026

🌱 New paper by the Water Harvesting Lab - UNIFI, led by Hubert Hirwa from Florida A&M University.

“𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐬𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲: 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢-𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐩𝐬,” in 𝘊𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘥 & 𝘈𝘨𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, published by Taylor & Francis Group.

🔗 Read the full paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/23311932.2026.2709108

The paper examines how multi-systems integration can strengthen food system sustainability and resilience while highlighting emerging knowledge gaps that require greater research, policy, and implementation attention.

Giulio Castelli
DAGRI UNIFI
Università degli Studi di Firenze

22/08/2026

Grazie all’Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo per l’invito all’evento “Agricoltura blu – Innovazione e sostenibilità verso l’efficienza idrica”, con la nostra coordinatrice Elena Bresci.

L’evento ha inaugurato il programma del Padiglione Internazionale C3 “Seminare il futuro” del Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale.

Al centro del dibattito, l’efficienza irrigua, la gestione della scarsità idrica, il trasferimento di conoscenze e tecnologie e l’integrazione tra acqua, agricoltura, sicurezza alimentare, energia e tutela degli ecosistemi

A presto per future collaborazioni!

Università degli Studi di Firenze
Scuola di Agraria - Università di Firenze
DAGRI UNIFI

20/08/2026

Non mancate l’evento “Agricoltura Blu” con Elena Bresci, coordinatrice del Water Harvesting Lab - UNIFI - DAGRI UNIFI!

Università degli Studi di Firenze
Agenzia Italiana per la Cooperazione allo Sviluppo

🌱💧 Innovazione, sostenibilità e cooperazione internazionale per affrontare una delle principali sfide del nostro tempo: la gestione efficiente delle risorse idriche in agricoltura.

Al Meeting Rimini, promuove il side-event “Agricoltura blu – Innovazione e sostenibilità verso l’efficienza idrica”, con la partecipazione di istituzioni, organizzazioni internazionali, università, società civile e imprese.

Ad aprire i lavori sarà il Direttore Marco Riccardo Rusconi. Al centro del confronto, tecnologie per il risparmio idrico, agricoltura 4.0, riutilizzo delle acque, resilienza climatica e nuove forme di governance condivisa.

📍 Padiglione Internazionale C3 – “Seminare il futuro” - Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale
🗓️ 21 agosto 2026
🕒 Ore 15.00

Leggi la news ➡️ https://www.aics.gov.it/news/aicsrimini2026/

👉 Scopri come partecipare e genera il tuo ticket d’ingresso gratuito: https://www.meetingrimini.org/come-partecipare

Direzione Generale della Cooperazione allo Sviluppo