Assessing and Monitoring the Sustainability in Rural World Heritage Sites

In 2002, the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) established the importance of the sustainability and the need of management plans for the safeguard of cultural heritage. No models, rules or specific definitions have been provided for this purpose. By 2014, UNESCO had recognized 16 rural landscapes as cultural heritage sites. This paper aims to understand the management systems adopted by the rural World Heritage Sites over time in order to identify the best practices, strategies, actions and measures applied for the conservation of their universal value with a particular focus on sustainability. A comparative study, analyzing the management plans for these sites, was conducted. The drawing up of site management plans for such rural landscapes is a difficult process. In fact, private and public authorities and several stakeholders are involved, and all of them should participate actively in the decision making process. To ensure the sustainability of these sites, it is important to evaluate several parameters and to design an integrated plan. We focused on assessing and monitoring sustainability in rural World Heritage Sites, and our results could be useful for the implementation of existing plans and processes for drawing up management plans for future UNESCO cultural heritage

ABOUT THE LONG-TIME COOPERATION BETWEEN TORINO, MADAGASCAR AND COMOROS

The long-time cooperation history between Torino, Madagascar and Comoros began in 2008 with the project SCORE (“Supporting Cooperation for Research and Education”; Edulink Program ACP Contract RPR 118 # 36), run by DBIOS in co-operation with the University of the Comoros and the Malagasy Universities of Mahajanga and Antananarivo. The project allowed the implementation of a joint International Master degree on “Sustainable Development and Conservation of Biodiversity”, aimed at strengthening students’ capacity in surveying, monitoring and managing natural habitats.One year later, in 2009, the University of Torino (DBIOS together with the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Food Science, DISAFA) cooperate with the University of the Comoros and three Malagasy partners, i. e. the Universities of Antananarivo and of Tamatave and G.E.R.P. (an NGO: Groupe d’Etude et Recherche sur les Primates de Madagascar) and started Project BIRD (Biodiversity Integration And Rural Development”, ACP Science & Technology FED/2009/217077). This project contributed to further improve the professional skills and training of the Masters degree students, but also promoted capacity building at the social level, by involving local village authorities. The project supported the development and implementation of action plans on a local basis and fostered the socioeconomic development of communities. One of its most important results was to develop research field stations acting as multipurpose centres where researchers were hosted, where training and dissemination events took place and where organizational meetings of the local communities were held. We thank Prof. Giancarlo Bounous, now retired, for his enthusiastic coordination and his contribution to the many rural development actions carried on during BIRD project.In 2013, DBIOS and DISAFA together with its Comorian and Malagasy Partners started working on Project EGALE (Gathering universities for quality in education; Edulink II Program ACP, Contract FED/2013/320-117). The project: i) strengthened local capacities in taking part to definition and implementation of national and regional agriculture and food security strategic plans by promoting a sustainable use of local products; ii) enhanced networking and expertise exchange among EU and ACP countries (such as the Comoros); iii) tailor ACP educational offers on local labour market requirements, as well as on local developmental priorities and international quality standards.In this Junco issue the proceedings of the International Scientific Congress on “Food security and Agrobiodiversity in Madagascar and Comoros”, held on May 25-27, 2016 in Toamasina, are reported. The congress was organized and financed by the project EGALE (“Gathering Universities for Quality in Education”, ACP-EU Cooperation Programme in Higher Education EDULINK II, FED/2013/320-117) and had a great impact on the scientific community and stakeholders in Madagascar. About one hundred researchers, students and professionals participated in the event, that was organized by the “Institut Supérieur de Sciences, Environnement et Développement Durable” (ISSEDD – University of Toamasina, Madagascar), thanks to a young, enthusiastic staff.Several papers on food security were presented with a multi-disciplinary approach: agrobiodiversity and food issues were addressed through poster and oral presentations selected for their high scientific quality and their significant contribution to food security and natural resources sustainable management.13 malagasy students presented the posters (reported in this issue) with the main results  obtained by their master thesis work in Ethology - “International Master in Sustainable Biodiversity Management and Conservation”,   a 2 years Master Joint title between the University of Torino and the University of Mahajanga

Biomolecules and Natural Medicine Preparations: Analysis of New Sources of Bioactive Compounds from Ribes and Rubus spp. buds

It is well known that plants are important sources for the preparation of natural remedies as they contain many biologically active compounds. In particular, polyphenols, terpenic compounds, organic acids, and vitamins are the most widely occurring groups of phytochemicals. Some endemic species may be used for the production of herbal preparations containing phytochemicals with significant bioactivity, as antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory capacities, and health benefits. Blackberry sprouts and blackcurrant buds are known to contain appreciable levels of bioactive compounds, including flavonols, phenolic acids, monoterpenes, vitamin C, and catechins, with several clinical effects. The aim of this research was to perform an analytical study of blackcurrant and blackberry bud-preparations, in order to identify and quantify the main biomarkers, obtaining a specific phytochemical fingerprint to evaluate the single botanical class contribution to total phytocomplex and relative bioactivity, using a High Performance Liquid Chromatograph−Diode Array Detector; the same analyses were performed both on the University laboratory and commercial preparations. Different chromatographic methods were used to determine concentrations of biomolecules in the preparations, allowing for quantification of statistically significant differences in their bioactive compound content both in the case of Ribes nigrum and Rubus cultivated varieties at different harvest stages. In blackcurrant bud-extracts the most important class was organic acids (50.98%) followed by monoterpenes (14.05%), while in blackberry preparations the main bioactive classes were catechins (50.06%) and organic acids (27.34%). Chemical, pharmaceutical and agronomic-environmental knowledge could be important for obtaining label certifications for the valorization of specific genotypes, with high clinical and pharmaceutical value: this study allowed to develop an effective tool for the natural preparation quality control and bioactivity evaluation through the chemical fingerprinting of bud preparations