Building common knowledge for co-designing and implementing river contracts: the landscape units of the Simeto River Agreement

The paper discusses the process of building common frameworks of knowledge through a community mapping process that has led to the definition of landscape units for the implementation of a river contract. Authors propose landscape units as sub-bioregions with specific characteristics that serve to improve the awareness of living in a common home. This awareness is a precondition for taking care of landscapes. In this respect, landscape units are tools aimed at increasing stewardship, the sense of belonging, and the act of care within various actors of local communities. Authors present the process of the Simeto River Agreement, a river contract developed in the Simeto River Valley, Sicily, IT. The process started from a community mapping initiative, which led to the identification of landscape units, and finally to the implementation of the Agreement with the aim of identifying enabling knowledge for the care of landscapes. Authors reflect upon the process of engagement in a long-term university-community partnership developed through approaches inspired by the paradigms of action research, and enriched through experiences of service learning.