Traditional Water Techniques, Cultural Heritage for a Sustainable Future - SHADUF
Project start and end date: 2004 – 2007
Project Partners: Jordan (Petra National Trust); Egypt (National Centre for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage); Palestine (Via Maris Inc. and Sidata Information & Communication System Ltd.); Morocco (Université Moulay Ismaïl); Algeria (Société Sud Timmi Sarl and Université des Sciences et de la Technologie d’Oran); Greece (National Agricultural Research Foundation); Italy (Italian Research Centre on Traditional and Local Knowledge); Belgium (European Jewelry Technology Network)
Funding provided by: International Cooperation Programme of the European Commission Directorate Research
Project cost: JD 1,043,188 ($1,473,430) (cost of PNT segment of the project JD 95,795 ($ 135,300))
Traditional Water Techniques, Cultural Heritage for a Sustainable Future (SHADUF) is a three-year project initiated in 2004 by partners from the Mediterranean region with the common goal of reusing traditional water techniques to improve water resource management and the conservation of cultural heritage.
The Mediterranean region provides a clear example of how water management has been inexorably linked with the social, economic, and political history of the region and reveals the innovative ingenuity of human societies that exchanged ideas and practices from one area to another within the region. Inhabitants of the Mediterranean basin developed an intricate system of channels, cisterns and other features to direct water from the surrounding environment into their thriving cities. These systems not only supplied water for domestic use, but also stored water in areas of scarcity, irrigated their fields, guarded against flash floods, and protected their monuments from environmental degradation.
In a world where water is becoming scarce, SHADUF’s primary objective is to capitalise on these traditional and indigenous techniques to provide a model of how archaeological data, integrated with historical information and traditional knowledge, can create a sense of awareness of the role of water in society and nature, as well as reveal the benefits of a long-term understanding of water management in efforts to develop sustainable development, restoration and conservation strategies. Traditional water techniques projects have been conducted in Petra, Italy, Greece, Palestine, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, and Syria.
In its involvement with this project the Petra National Trust will have participated in contributing to improving water resource management in the Mediterranean region by using Petra as a case study
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