C6 PROJECT SHORT PRESENTATION

The project C6 (Climatic Changes and Carbon Cycle in Canyons and Caves) is a monitoring project for the evaluation of climate change signals. The project started in 1999 due to the initiative of the Italian Canyoning Association (A.I.C.) and the no-profit association Al Qantara, limited to the study of canyons. At the same time, since the year 1999, the Italian NGO Legambiente, managing the natural reserves of Santa Ninfa, Carburangeli and Sant'Angelo Muxaro caves, all three located in Sicily (Southern Italy), started a monitoring program focused to verify the existence of a possible environmental negative feedback of human fruition. In the year 2005 the two different project were merged in the C6 program, under the scientific supervision of the Palermo Branch of the Italian National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (I.N.G.V.); during the same year, the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature of Jordan joined the program. Since 2006 the speleological group "Speleo Dodo" from Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina) became member of the C6 project network, managing a monitoring station located in the Middle Bijambare cave.

MEETING PROGRAM

Friday 9 November

09:30-09:40, Sergio Gurrieri (INGV-PA, Director): Introduction
09:40-09:55, Paolo Madonia (C6 Project Coordinator): The C6 Project
09:55-10:10, Giulia Casamento (Legambiente, Natural Reserve "Grotta di S.Ninfa, Director): Environmental monitoring in the natural reserves managed by Legambiente
10:10-10:30, Amila Zukanovic & Simone Milanolo, (Speleo Dodo Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina): Karst areas protection and environmental monitoring in Bosnia Herzegovina
10:30-10:45, Adriana Bellanca (University of Palermo, Geological Sciences Course Coordinator): Education at university level and climatic changes monitoring projects
10:45-11:00, Roberto Schenone (Italian Canyoning Association, AIC): The role of mountain associations in climatic changes monitoring projects
11:00-11:20, Coffe Break
11:20-12:20, Preliminary results from C6 project
12:20-13:00, Discussion
13:00-13:15, Paolo Madonia (C6 Project Coordinator): Future development of C6 Project
13:15-14:30, Lunch break
14:30-17:00, Operative meeting between C6 participants

Saturday 10 November

09:00-18:00, Excursions to the C6 sites "Grotta di Carburangeli (free admission) and "Grotta di Santa Ninfa (cavers only)