Martesana Land Bank for sustainable land tenure
Proponent
EStà - Economia e Sostenibilità
www.foodcities.org
Independent non profit research center that believes in a robust, systematic approach to sustainability. It works together with government agencies, research centres, economic groups, and actors at local, national and international level about the relations between Food and Cities.
Main responsible entity
Martesana Consortium of Local Authorities of Metropolitan Milan Area
- 12 Municipalities in the peri-urban area of Milan located along a historical artificial water channel called Martesana that collect the water from a natural river to the centre of the city of Milan. The partnership toward the Land Bank involves also CSOs, farmers, social cooperatives, universities, as well as independent research centres for policy design support.
- Cariplo Foundation: private, grant-making philanthropic foundation, with a banking origin, that plays a fundamental role to support social, cultural, environmental and research activities in Lombardy Region (Northern Italy) for sustainable development.
Date/Timeframe
2016-2017
Funding source
Cariplo Foundation and Local Authorities
Location
Italy, around Milan
Background/Context
The Martesana context was the peri-urban area that was characterized by big informatics and telecommunication companies and multinational corporations that, after the emergence of the economic crisis have closed their activities, causing a depression of the local economy.
In this crisis situations some local authorities have develop a process for sharing a common vision of the future and new activism for defining new institutional competences.
Focus/Objectives
New stewardship for land planning and management as a way to combine environmental stewardship and rural job creation in a fragile context.
Key characteristics of the experience/process
How manage the issues of land tenure in a fragmented periurban context from an agroecological and property point of view.
Key actors involved and their role
- Local Authorities, as decision maker institutions for land use planning and as property of several agricultural land.
- Cooperatives of farmers, as producers actors interested in new innovative opportunities for reinforcing their members.
- Grassroots organizations of civil society, as consumer actors interesting in local food system.
- Young people, interested to become farmer but without being land owners for starting and implementing their entrepreneurial ideas.
- Academics and independent research centers for analysis and interpretation of land policy as part of food system.
Key changes observed with regards to food security and nutrition and sustainable agriculture and food systems
- Local Authorities are making available public lands for supporting the creations of new jobs connected to the local food system.
- Creation of an innovative local school for agricultural activism with entrepreneurial skills able to manage the land and soil with agro-ecological approach.
Challenges faced
Land tenure, urbanization and rural transformation in the alert of biodiversity loose with agro-ecological approach.
Lessons/Key messages
- Facilitation activities for making connections among different kind of actors thata are involved in the local food system.
- Role of financial actors for design new policy of land tenure in a kind of “bank”.
- Connection between land planning and rural polities for land tenure.
Mr. Andrea Calori