PPGIS applied to environmental communication and hazards for a community-based approach: a dualism in the Southern Italy "calanchi" landscape

The need of protection of the territory is a priority for the society, which is an integral part of it (unfortunately, this coincidence is often forgotten): the new environmental issues require the development of innovative management strategies and of appropriate knowledge and models. The balanced use of resources, essential for the survival and well-being of society, can be optimised through the promotion of the territory. The identification and the sustainable development of local resources can only be achieved by directing development policies towards a path of integration between ecological needs, protection of the landscape and socio-economic and cultural needs. The landscape, read as a result of the interaction between human and natural processes, is a rich heritage to safeguard, enhance and promote. The key requirement underlying each cultural and environmental enhancement project is the knowledge of the territory in its manifold aspects; knowledge that can be properly synthesised through cartographic representation: maps are tools to make data easily accessible and meaningful. In this contribution, after having carried out a review of the literature on GIS technologies and having provided some work examples, we analyse some proposals about the application of PPGIS on communication of environmental promotion initiatives; PPGIS, in fact, are effective in risk communication and information and in the consequent prevention of disasters. The mediated and participatory use of PPGIS technologies, furthermore, allows a community-based approach, fundamental for reducing the disaster risk.