Action 10
Conference “Status and preservation of biodiversity in the Protected Areas of the South”
In the last few years the growing number of protected areas in the Puglia Region and the awareness of the protection of the territory and natural resources by citizens in general and stakeholders who operate and do business within the protected areas has triggered a new way to live and relate to the territory itself. This condition, however, requires the formation of stakeholders interested in the various productive activities carried out within protected areas in synergy with ecological balances and in order to maintain the highest levels of biodiversity. For example, to achieve the goal of combining agro-pastoral productive activities with the preservation of environmental values, as particular as those existing in the Alta Murgia National Park, we intend to undertake specific training courses aimed at breeders, farmers, managers of agritouristic activities, students, etc. Environmental excursion guides will have a specific attention who operate in the territory of Alta Murgia National Park. This particular professional category represents in fact the trait d’union between the conservation policies of the park and those who intend to enjoy the territory in a turistic way. Therefore, it becomes essential that the messages transmitted are scientifically correct and that they deal with sustainable management actions. As part of the training courses there are the following issues: sustainable management methods of pastoral activities; importance of conserving indigenous domestic breeds; use and enhancement of wool: from waste product to precious fiber; carding and spinning of local wool; recognition, classification of the Murgia dyeing herbs and their use; natural dyeing of indigenous wools; the importance of conservation of wildlife diversity; elements of biology of the wolf; application and advantages of wolf damage prevention systems to farms; application and benefits of systems to prevent damage from wild boar to crops; coexistence with the wolf and other wild species: possible added value to the productions?
