More unexpected is perhaps that ancient traditions for sustainable survival in very dry, actually arid, mediterranean environments could lead to the next “Learners Guide” for environmental teaching in the Northern and Baltic countries, concerned about urban ecology. But this is what happened. The Baltic Sea Projects coordinator’s meeting in Vilnius decided november 9th 2007 to produce the 8th BSP “Learners Guide” on this subject, inspired by the example of the (former) sustainable cave urbanisation Sassi di Matera in southern Italy, one in the range of Unesco WHE-monuments, studied through an ASP-Unesco supported school project of 2006-07, done by Nykøbing Katedralskole.

The caves in the canyon sides of the carst (chalk) landscape Murgia Materana are natural hollows carved by water percolation through the limestone subsoil. Easy to use for even the first hunters during the neolitic period (stone age). Later extended into complex settlements and even more or less underground towns like Sassi di Matera, partly visible in the background across the canyon. 

 

Due to the ongoing change in climatic conditions wider parts of the Mediterraneans have got and will get less rain throughout the year, especially during the summer season, causing widespread incinerations (forest fires) and reduced cultivation capacity, while the Nordic and Baltic area has got more, until double precipitation, causing flooding and landslide.  The specialised survival concept of the Mediterranean cave dwellings through 10.000 years has been their capability for collecting water from surface runoff through a limited part of the year and conserving it for the dry summer in combined systems of underground cisterns. Also the sewage and nutrients from household waste and other local materials have been reused, making all together a genuine sustainable urbanisation. Sassi di Matera is not the only example on (former) sustainable urbanisations in the Middle East and Mediterraneans – also Petra in Jordan, Cappadocia in Turkey and Matmata in Tunisia a.o. are well known sites. The knowledge of their sustainability has been studied and systematised by i.e. a new UN Institute for Cave studies in Matera, Istituto Ipogea di Matera, from where more reports are published.

(Visit the website http://www.mappeonline.com/unesco/atlas/) 

More of the principles on urban sustainability remain universal and both inspiring and crucial for changing urbanisations all over the world into sustainable towns and cities. Hence – why not use the principles in Malmö, St.Petersburg, Pori or Nykøbing, where flooding combined with polluted drinking water, burning of fossil fuels combined with blocked traffic of CO2-exhausting vehicles, poorly insulated housing etc. produce a threat for a balanced and un-avoidable urban extension in the future?

So the perspective for the BSP Learners Guide no.8 will be to research and teach teachers and pupils how to check and make a pressure on the local urbanisation for its sustainability and capability to meet the future demand for housing the growing urban populations by use of sustainable technologies and ressource consumption. Colleagues with entusiasm and knowledge, who would be interested in contribution to the guide, please contact me as the editor of the guide:  Denne emailadresse er beskyttet mod programmer som samler emailadresser. Du skal aktivere javascript for at kunne se adressen.