MEditerranean MOntainous LAndscapes: an historical approach to cultural heritage based on traditional agrosystems (MEMOLA)
The project is an interdisciplinary approach to cultural landscapes of Mediterranean mountainous areas, takingas a central axis the historical study of two natural resources essential to generate agro-systems: water and soil.The proposal focuses on Sierra Nevada (Spain), Monti di Trapani (Italy), ColliEuganei (Italy) and Vjosa Valley(Albania).
Landscapes and their structure are strongly conditioned by the need to ensure the livelihood of rural communitiesover time.Agricultural traditions and the different ways of exploiting naturalresources including management over time are crucial for conservation of the landscape and its ability to adaptto current global changes. Conservation can be achieved through the exploitation of this heritage togenerate environmental and cultural conservation strategies for sustainable development in rural areas; with theaim of protecting this cultural heritage and, at the same time, increasing and transmitting knowledge about it inorder to benefit the local and wider European society.
General Objectives
Investigate the logic that rules the process of historical landscapes formation in relation to natural resources within a diachronic framework. Introduce the historical perspective (4th dimension), which we consider to be a powerful interpretation key, in landscape studies.
Draw context-tailored strategies of preservation, diffusion and valorisation of the cultural heritage (both tangible and intangible) and of the environment. Stimulate sustainable development in rural areas. Analyse the efficiency of these systems and the current problems of survival within the context of global climate change and the framework of European policies.
Develop new methodologies for the study of cultural landscapes, through the creation of scalable working protocols, able to take advantage of the solid background of technologies and analysis methods available to the research group.
Use a multidisciplinary approach, thus widening the range of specialists involved in cultural heritage study to agronomist, hydrologists, botanists, hydro-geologists, geologists and architects. Promote skills hybridization in research work (both humanist and scientific aspects), prompting new forms of job creation.
Role of Andalusian partner
• Quantitatively assess the long-term historical uses of water and soils in the study areas.
• Analysis of the productivity and resource use efficiency in the four historic sample-areas, throughagronomic and hydrological resource-management models, taking into account the global climate change, andthe EU policies and strategies (European Landscape Convention, European water policy, Common AgriculturalPolicy, Joint Programming Initiative (JPI) on Cultural Heritage and Global Change).
• Analysis of ecosystem services starting from mountain agricultural and livestock spaces in theMediterranean.
• Proposals for improving resources-use efficiency and conservation of cultural landscapes associatedwith traditional agricultural and livestock activities, in order to contribute to a sustainable development of thestudy areas from a social and environmental point of view, while enhancing their heritage and natural values.