Paper short abstract:

I report on the results of a research conducted in a village in the Veneto Dolomites as part of a larger NSF project (coordinated by G. Bennardo) on the relationship between local knowledge and climate change. Local perception of climate/environmental changes and their interpretations are discussed.

Paper long abstract:

As part of an international NSF sponsored research project on the relationship between local knowledge and climate change under the coordination of Giovanni Bennardo, I conducted fieldwork in an old settlement of the Ladin area in the Veneto Dolomites between 2013 and 2015. This village has been affected in the last century by a depopulation trend that has reduced the inhabitants by two thirds. Nowadays, no local family raises animals as it was the case in the past when "stable and woods" were the two main sources for people survival and the village was entirely surrounded by cultivated fields. As the bosco "woodland" is no longer maintained and used for woodcutting, it is expanding and encroaching the village while at the same time becoming denser. This emerges as a main concern for villagers. Retreating glaciers are also participating in creating an unfamiliar landscape in the area. Nevertheless, the central area of the village, which comprises allotments dedicated to the cultivation of cabbage, has remained unchanged for generations and no development project has been allowed. In more recent time, due to different climatic conditions, new cultivations (definitely not alpine) have been introduced in these allotments. In the presentation, based on the results of the analyses of the interviews carried out during fieldwork, I discuss the local perception of climate change and provide indications on how villagers interpret the effects of this change.