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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Ecological Network, Application of a Model in Sicily

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description

Since the Tertiary period, Sicily (Italy) has been major reservoir of biodiversity. The abundance of these resources, however, is not reflected by developing an effective system of planning and management of wilderness areas. This work analyzes the regional territorial features, referring to the fragmentation process of natural systems, closely related to the phenomenon of soil consumption on wilderness areas that, since the sixties, has strongly contributed to shape the regional territory both from the physical and from the functional point of view. For these characteristics Sicily is particularly suitable for becoming a reflection field where the new perspectives on ecological networks could be put into practice. The careful investigation of plans and projects, which have tried to systematize the natural areas and to define a correct management, are analyzed as interconnected steps for the new conservation of the territory. The case studies are the ongoing planning experiences of Metropolitan city of Palermo and Libero Consorzio di Siracusa, where the topic of ecological networks is or could be the core element of territory development/preservation dynamics and the structuring of plans. The analyzed experiences, tough provinces were abolished with their planning instruments, show how the intermediate territorial scale—that of the metropolitan city or the free municipality consortium—is still the most appropriate so as to efficiently approach the complex relations between the settlement system and networks of areas of natural interest.