Dr. Fei Wang was voted as Steering Committee member of DesertNet International recently. The scientific network of European Desert (EDN) has been transformed into the Association of DesertNet International (DNI), after its registration at the Strasbourg/Illkirch Court as a legal non-governmental and non-profit organization. More information of DesertNet International is now available in English, French and Spanish (http://www.european-desertnet.eu). There are 241 members from 45 countries reiterated.

The tasks of DNI are to provide a platform for scientific discussions and exchange of ideas, foster cutting edge science, identify topics and research areas; to identify and document scientific state of the art of the main topics in desertification assessment, risk evaluation, mitigation and restoration,; to identify and articulate the economic drivers and the socio-economic consequences of desertification; to integrate scientific findings across disciplines, translate into common language and communicate scientific findings, and to work in and on affected areas worldwide.

As a think tank, NDI communicates with stakeholders and policy-makers through identifying minimum consensus on consolidated knowledge, evaluation of scientific knowledge for stakeholders and policy makers, dissemination of knowledge, responding to demands for assessment and information needs address knowledge gaps, translating knowledge to improve governance, and identifying issues and priorities for stakeholders and public policies.