The value of the forest for the community
In 2021, the ECO programme's call for ideas, in partnership between the Pineta Park and Istituto Oikos, made it possible to support 4 green business initiatives in the Varese area. One of these initiatives was the foundation of a Land Association in the Lanza Valley PLIS area, which was accompanied in an incubation and mentoring process. One of them is a Land Association in the Lanza Valley PLIS area, which networks abandoned forests and uncultivated agricultural areas (and their owners), to enable their shared and sustainable management, both economically and environmentally.
With the AlleLanza project, we support the Land Association with an important goal: to prevent and oppose land abandonment and disruption through the activation of community management of abandoned land.
The project intervenes on three fronts:
1. Capacity building for public administration
We want environmental issues to become an integral part of municipal activities. Therefore, we offer a training course focused on forest management and enhancement of ecosystem services, but also on problems and opportunities that the land can offer, with a view to improving its management.
At the same time, we support the drafting of the Land Association Management Plan, which defines criteria and solutions for managing the areas in a way that is both sustainable and profitable.
2. Networking with companies
The involvement of local companies is indispensable during the process of green employment revival. The Land Association will be supported in the creation of a network of companies, operating particularly in the forestry, agricultural, tourism and recreational sectors, in order to creating partnerships that strengthen the economy on a local scale.
3. Communication and active participation
To expand the Land Association network of members and make itself known throughout the territory, it is necessary to define its positioning and recognisability in the local context. So we will support it in defining an effective communication and promotion strategy.
The project is possible thanks to the support of Fondazione Cariplo.
