The European Congress of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (IALE 2017) “From pattern and process to people and action” takes place in Ghent from 12 to 15 September 2017. The congress theme reflects that landscape ecology puts emphasis on the integration of pattern and process as a biophysical component of landscape ecology with social and cultural approaches being brought in by people and action. The emphasis is on supporting a true interaction of natural and social sciences, and of policy and practice.
MedINA will participate in the Congress with a poster on the fishing heritage of the Messolonghi-Aitoliko lagoon in Western Greece. The poster will be presented in the Symposium “From fragility to empowerment: new approaches to landscape community development after the adoption of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s)” organised by the York Archaeological Trust for Excavation and Research Limited. The Symposium will showcase innovative thinking and inspirational practical examples from Europe and beyond, demonstrating that people-centred, place-based development focused on particular landscapes is essential to the delivery of the SDGs. As a concrete output of the Symposium, participants will contribute to the production of a policy paper and action framework on this topic.
MedINA’s project on traditional fisheries in the Messolonghi-Aitoliko lagoon, that will be presented in IALE2017, aims to support the Ivari technique and its practitioners. The Ivari technique is a traditional, extensive fish farming practice that uses permanent barrier traps to capture fish during their seasonal or ontogenic offshore and onshore migration, still largely managed based on traditional knowledge. Supporting and reinforcing this practice can positively contribute to the local economy, to environmental conservation, to safeguarding the area’s tangible and intangible fishing heritage and to empowering the local community. For more information on the project, the poster can be found on the “Related Files” section of the present article. The Messolonghi-Aitoliko lagoon project is being undertaken as part of the Mediterranean Consortium for Nature and Culture project on supporting and reinforcing cultural practices in the Mediterranean.
