A landscape project for the coexistence of agriculture and nature: a proposal for the coastal area of a Natura 2000 site in Sicily (Italy)

Many rural coastal Mediterranean areas suffer from great anthropomorphicpressure. This is due to intensive agriculture, and constructionfor residential, tourism and industrial uses.The present work investigates the idea of using a landscape projectin the Gulf of Gela in South Sicily to recover the dunes and the areabehind them. The method used is based on the literature and will evaluateand interpret the dynamics of the landscape, so as to draw up alandscape plan, which can be used to help sustain the assets of thearea, in a way, which is compatible with conserving nature. Thismethod was tested in the LIFE11-Leopoldia project, funded by theEuropean Union. The results of the study form part of the landscapeproject. This project is aimed at connecting the different productivezones in the area, protecting the natural environments and the ruralhistorical patrimony, through combining the modern road networkswith the older slower, historic infrastructure. Three different levels oflandscape management are proposed: total protection (the dunes),high-level protection (the area behind the dunes where traditionalagriculture is practised, buffer areas and ecological connecting areas),medium levels of protection (sustainable agriculture, green connectionsand ecological corridors). The key aims of the project are as follows:transversality - repairing the agricultural fabric and the relationshipbetween the land and the sea; sustainability - recovering the environmentalsystem and traditional activities; flexibility - agriculturewith only minor environmental impact.