PROJECT DESCRIPTION
BACKGROUND
The agricultural landscape of Europe's Mediterranean coasts is in some places still morphologically characterised by steps, supported by dry-stone walled terraces that were constructed to prevent erosion and thereby create conditions suitable for cultivation. Due to its peculiar orography, Liguria is one of the regions in Europe that is most characterised by the presence of terraces. In a well-known stretch of coastline called 'Cinque Terre', the terraced landscape is so spectacular and unique that in 1997 UNESCO designated it as a 'World Natural and Cultural Heritage'. In 1999 the area became a National Park. Today, the terraced landscape of the Cinque Terre is characterised by intense processes of land abandonment and disuse, caused both by the practical and economic difficulties of maintenance and by social changes occurring over the last century. There is a risk that the damage caused by land abandonment can compromise the area's delicate hydrogeological balance, jeopardise the main villages and eventually wipe out this unique landscape which has given the Cinque Terre its worldwide renown.
OBJECTIVES
The "PROSIT" project aimed at undertaking a series of actions based on environmentally and economically compatible mechanisms in order to protect and recover the coastal rural territory of the Cinque Terre. The project was to have three phases: preparatory, planning and implementation and was to be developed along two territorial levels: the entire coastal territory and an experimental area of a limited size. To promote awareness among the local population in the preparatory phase, "Forums" were to be organised, in which all actors involved in the project and other interested parties took part. During the planning phase, the most vulnerable areas and areas where recovery still appeared possible were to be identified. Planning tools were to be elaborated for the recovery of rural areas and to promote regulatory adjustment by stakeholders. Furthermore, agricultural workers were to be motivated, and the insertion of young farmers fostered. During the implementation phase, a pilot, demonstration project to recover abandoned terraces was to be carried out in five areas of the park - vines were to be replanted and basil, lemons and oil were to be cultivated organically.
RESULTS
The PROSIT project was successful in reaching its overall objectives: the maintenance of the historical quality of the landscape; safeguarding villages from hydro-geological risk; the involvement of the local population and interested actors at different levels; and the experimentation of a model of recovery of coastal terraced landscape. The first objective reached was the mapping of rural areas undertaken in collaboration with the University of Genoa, which produced an alphanumerical archive of mapped areas. This will facilitate the choice of recovery policy, since technicians can now estimate the level of decline of areas, the degree to which they have been overtaken by woods and the proximity to village centres as well as the need for immediate intervention in the light of resources at hand. An integral part of the pilot phase was the entrusting of plots of land to the park and the subsequent carrying out of the recovery of terraces. The park territory covers 4,226 hectares and 1,056 hectares of these are uncultivated/abandoned land. 35 hectares of land were entrusted to be recovered and recultivated as part of the PROSIT pilot project. The pilot project was characterised by three main elements of innovation: crop diversification, mechanisation of cultivation and organic farming. Initially a single pilot area was planned to cultivate vines, but given the experimental nature of the project as well as the interest manifested at forums, more crops were added: olive trees, lemon trees and completely new for the area, basil. The cultivation of basil fitted into the park strategy of promoting high quality local organic products, moreover the famous pesto sauce is produced locally and therefore locally produced basil has a market. A new system of planting vines in a row was experimented which enabled the experimentation of mechanisation between the rows. This is also significant as vines in the Cinque Terre have always been cultivated in a pergola system which makes harvesting and general maintenance physically gruelling and mechanisation virtually impossible. The pilot project has been the basis for the extension of the recovery methods to the rest of the park. Different feasibility studies were carried out on administrative, economic and technical aspects of extension. Moreover, training courses for dry-stone wall builders were planned and carried out, and the possibility of setting up a nursery for autochthonous vines was studied. Job opportunities could arise in the future with the emergence of new agricultural cooperatives or micro-firms for the production of autochthonous vines, basil and pesto sauce. A fair degree of awareness has been reached among the local population as well as visitors to the area vis-à-vis the problems that the territory has to face. Following a number of information actions (leaflets, signs, articles in Park magazine La Voce del Parco, internet postings, cable tv etc), 4500 people expressed interest in the initiative. Stakeholders were involved actively in the project mainly through the forum. Eleven meetings were organised during the project on different themes. The themes of the meetings varied from viticulture to management of wild boar in the area, from the road network to organic farming and from olive growing to aromatic herbs. Schools were also involved in the project through visits to the pilot projects and presentation of the project in the local schools by the project guide. An important deliverable of the project was the production of a technical manual on the building rules for dry-stone walls as well as maintenance of terraces. It was distributed locally to schools and private individuals, on the website and sent to those interested in the initiative. It brings together the know-how acquired during the pilot phase of the project as well as different research projects undertaken over the years on behalf of the park. To disseminate the results of the project, an international conference was organised and a video of the project was undertaken by the tourism promotion body in English and Italian. The LIFE PROSIT project, has had immediate positive environmental benefits on the hydro-geological stability of the hill-sides and the quality of the agricultural landscape. Organic cultivation, moreover, along with the re-building of dry-stone walls has contributed to maintaining an ecological and landscape balance developed over centuries that has a high environmental and landscape value. The project has been instrumental in setting off a new innovative approach to agriculture thus rendering the life of the Cinque Terre farmer more feasible and sustainable as guardian of the agricultural environment. Increased interest in local, organic products generally and increased tourist interest in the area and its products, has created new market opportunities for farmers as producers and caretakers of the landscape and environment. The results of this project are interesting for farming regions all over Europe but more especially coastal rural regions dependent on land cultivation for hydro-geological stability.
