CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2024
| Author | De Agostini, Carla |
|---|---|
| Title | Traditional water management in Southern Italy. A case-study from Pantelleria |
| Summary | Understanding the logic behind natural resource management techniques and practices, including how they have been implemented over long periods of time, is essential not only for maintaining cultural heritage but also for developing a new paradigm that will allow traditional techniques to address contemporary problems. As a result of managing ecosystems holistically and responsibly, archaic societies have often produced outstanding technical, artistic, and architectural works that are universally admired for their ability and have often been able to learn, adapt, and renew themselves in response to changing conditions. The development, maintenance and use of traditional knowledge is increasingly recognized as science. It is a science that advocates an innovative and participatory process that engages all stakeholders and considers not only productive functions but also environmental, cultural, and social factors. By analyzing the case study of Pantelleria, an island with a living heritage of landscape and water management in the Sicilian Channel, and utilizing the Appreciative Inquiry methodology, which is a tool that encourages conversations challenging the status quo, we can gain insights into innovative strategies for adapting to climate change. This research aims to surface the logic behind traditional knowledge and its successful implementation over a long period of time. This approach is vital for safeguarding cultural heritage and establishing a new paradigm for reappropriating traditional techniques in the modern era, in light of contemporary challenges, including but not limited to climate change. As a result of 79 interviews conducted on the island, exchanges, questions, comparisons, and discussions with experts and various stakeholders and bearers of this knowledge, it has become apparent that traditional knowledge provides not only innovative solutions to current challenges but also an excellent strategy for preserving and managing the land and water of Pantelleria under the conditions of climate change. According to this study, water management should be viewed the same way as in Pantelleria, utilizing the same attitude of traditional knowledge, understanding and developing strategies in balance with the environment. The ability of this community over millennia to manage and not exploit ecosystem functions has been stratified in landscape, knowledge and practices, Pantelleria serves as a model to demonstrate how similar regions experiencing water-related issues may benefit from its solutions. |
| Supervisor | László Pintér |
| Department | Environment Sciences and Policy MSc |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2024/de-agostini_carla.pdf |
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