Taking stock of the remediation efforts on Mount Titan's badlands over the past decades and outlining the necessary guidelines for their continuation. These are the main objectives of the memorandum of understanding signed yesterday, Wednesday, November 20, by the Autonomous State Company for Public Works (AASLP) and the University of the Republic of San Marino.
"More than thirty years after the adoption of the Reclamation Plan" launched in the 80s, "the need to implement a technical assessment of the activities carried out, with particular reference to the results achieved and the validation of the intervention methodologies adopted," has been identified, with the possibility of outlining "new intervention strategies in light of the most modern technologies," as stated in the document's preamble.
The University of San Marino's degree program in Civil Engineering, it is also reported, can draw on "experience gained over the years in applied research" and "provide a fundamental contribution both in identifying the evolution over time of the geomorphological structure of the badlands in San Marino and in the critical study" of specific cases. The University of San Marino will therefore participate in "evaluating the strategies pursued to date in terms of costs and benefits," estimating "the duration and effectiveness of the various types of works carried out in the area," determining "the evolution of the geomorphological structure of the badlands in San Marino," and, finally, "outlining new intervention strategies on a regional scale."
This is to monitor areas "subject to natural phenomena of expansion and landslides due to the steep slopes" and sparse vegetation. Also as a consequence of "urban expansion that has brought settlements and road infrastructures adjacent to the badlands," the agreement notes, "the implementation of reclamation and soil protection works aimed at preventing and safeguarding the built-up areas and the territory as a whole" is necessary.
The one-year agreement will provide two scholarships for "students who intend to complete an internship" in the "AASLP technical offices and develop the topics" in their theses "under the supervision of the faculty specialized in Geotechnics."
The protocol was signed by the University Rector, Corrado Petrocelli, and the AASLP President, Federico Bartoletti.
