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Capraia Smart Island, a circular economy model

Last May, Capraia hosted a summit of experts to let ideas and economics circulate freely. With this first meeting between distinguished technicians, administrators and residents, the island is becoming a model of circular economy through a virtuous participatory process. One of the most interesting and promising area in which to operate is the relaunch of a sustainable terrace farming to prevent degradation. In this respect, mechanization can provide a valuable contribution with appropriate technologies for the local context

by Matteo Monni
July - August - September 2017 | Back

In the Tuscan Archipelago National Park, which is the heart of the Cetacean Sanctuary, Capraia is perhaps the wildest island able, for some years now, to satisfy the entire electricity demand of residents and tourists with an Enel facility powered by biodiesel. In oder to be developed, the project required years of design and involved investments of around 2.5 million euros, in addition to the cooperation of numerous international and national companies for supplies and assembly of its components. Today, the power station - consisting of 4 generators for a total power of 2 MWe - can supply low voltage electricity to the 467 residents  of the island, who become 3,000 during summer. This is a good starting point towards the utmost environmental sustainability also for other productive sectors of the island.

The Capraia Smart Island project was born from these assumptions and, while aiming high, it started from the bottom through a participatory process which primarily involved the local residents. Many residents have in fact decided to engage in a progressive decarbonisation of the local economy by operating not only on the energy agenda as previously done, but also on the promotion of sustainable management of construction, agriculture, fishing, tourism and internal mobility. Other actions include giving a primary role to the collection, disposal and reuse of waste and to the optimization of the service for the collection, distribution and consumption of water.

In this framework, the eco-port works both as a service structure that welcomes everyone and a business card to the outside world. Moreover, much will be done to revitalize the rural layout of the area of Capraia, where the landscape has always been characterized by splendid terraces.

For a long time and until a few decades ago, agriculture played a central role in the economy of the island, with the production of oil, wine, fruit and vegetables. In 1873, the Municipality of Capraia handed over to the Ministry of the Interior about 550 hectares to found an Agricultural Criminal Colony where prisoners were serving their sentence by working in the fields with consequent positive effects on the territory. In 1986, with the closure of the Criminal Colony, the land was abandoned, with the consequence that in the early 1990s the agricultural activity completely disappeared. In 2008, after a legal process, which lasted over 20 years, the Court of Cassation established the civic use of an area of 500 hectares corresponding to the abolished Criminal Colony.

Later, many terraces of the former Colony, over 100 hectares, have been entrusted to the local residents who applied for farming. In these agricultural parcels, young entrepreneurs are reinvigorating agriculture to meet local needs with organic-oriented products, local essences and eco-sustainable protocols.
In this sense, the Capraia Smart Island project aims to guide the island’s agriculture by framing its development in the field of the circular economy, aiming for maximum sustainability through innovative approaches such as biochar, compost, mulching, overlay, organic fertilizers, biostimulants, use of natural active molecules, and more generally, products from Green Chemistry technologies.

In addition, the geopedoclimatic features of the island facilitate the work in the fields, whose impact can be reduced by using machines specially designed for sloping grounds or by turning the slope surfaces into terraces. In these areas, the use of specific technologies designed for soil treatment can ensure a greater fertility preservation.

For example, a few years experimentation carried out by the University of Palermo (Prof. Felice Pipitone) on the islands of Pantelleria and Salina has shown that the use of an innovative spading machine instead of a traditional motocultivator can significantly reduce soil pulverization (especially of volcanic origin) which thus maintains a good water storage capacity. With reference to the water resource, which is a limiting factor for many insular areas of the  Mediterranean island, a scientific research (carried out by the researchers of the laboratory for innovation of FederUnacoma and Caleidos Group) allowed to design a robot (the Rover Water) able to absorb the humidity of the air and then make selective irrigation by identifying the plants that need more water supply. To do this, the robot uses technologies that, by processing data received from the satellites, allow to locate the places where the water vapour and plants health are best intercepted. Capraia, in this quest for total balance between human activity and territory, can become a real circular lab and a virtuous model replicable both on the smaller Mediterranean islands and on a global scale.

In order to promote this initiative, a dedicated Working Group composed of Green Chemistry Bionet (CVB), ITABIA (Italian Biomass Association), Kyoto Club and Institute for Atmospheric Pollution of the CNR was created. The group is already working in synergy with experts from the various sectors involved, including the European Commission’s DG Energy. This collaboration has allowed to outline a unified vision of the project, able to connect existing and potential resources to the needs of the Smart Island. It is a matter of investing with a pioneering spirit (even though every single intervention has already been positively tested around the world) on an integrated strategy that can guarantee meaningful solutions able to radically change the lifestyle of both residents and guests and to give administrators the best way to manage resources and services.

Should these challenges be all won, the management of environmental resources and above all the quality of life will be improved, with future economic benefits.

As a first step, on 27 and 28 May 2017, a board of technicians belonging to the major green associations, research institutes, Italian universities and entrepreneurs spent a weekend in Capraia to create a workshop on bioeconomics. After the first meeting, which took place on the ferry to the island, a meeting was held for the local population.

Later, the experts present at the meeting were divided into working groups on the various areas identified: Energy, Sustainable Mobility, Energy Efficiency of Buildings, Waste, Agriculture, Fisheries, and Eco-port as pilot projects.

In the project team there are also specific consultants, whose task is to draw on European, national and regional fundings.

The Capraia Smart Island project has received the patronage of the Municipality of Capraia, the Tuscan Archipelago Park, the Georgofili Academy and the Renewable Resources and Energy Efficiency Coordination (FREE).

The intention of the organizers is to promote an annual convention to keep informed residents and institutions of the work accomplished and the results achieved. Finally, in 2020 Capraia will host an international conference dedicated to the Smart Islands.


“Smart” project, all sectors related

Fisheries – Development of coastal fishing and quality of fish farming for sea bream and sea bass cultivation (about 15,000 units / year) which is supplied to Coop Florence.            

Possible innovations: Sustainable fishing, use of trays, cassettes, labels and other material  made of biodegradable and compostable biofoam, recovery and recycling of worn fishing nets.            

Water - In the absence of adequate facilities for the harvesting, regeneration and collection of rainwater, the deficiencies of the water system (especially in summer) are mitigated by a desalination plant of seawater.

Possible innovations: restoration and implementation of rainwater harvesting systems (canals, basins and tanks), to reduce the use of desalinization and its inevitable costs.

Construction - 233 out of 361 dwellings are primary residential properties. The typical house of Capraia dates back to the 18th century and consists of three environments which grow vertically. Each house has its own cistern for rainwater collected from the roofs.   

Possible innovations: energy rationalization through energy audits, realization of feasibility studies, activation of financial instruments.

Port - Capraia is a marina enclosed between the north pier of about 140 metres and the southern pier of about 100 metres.

Possible innovations: ecoport, efficient management of waste produced by recreational crafts, rational use of freshwater from precipitation, night lighting from FER, local fish market in bio-buildings, specific OFMSW area.

Mobility - The means of transport on and to the island could gradually go from using fossil fuels to renewable energy fuels.          

Possible innovations: use of electric motors for cars and motorcycles, extensive use of cycles with pedal assistance, possible use of biodiesel in mixture with ferry fuel, etc.

Energy - Capraia is able to meet the needs of electricity users with the central biodiesel plant (with a peak of 3,000 tourists in summer).

Possible innovations: further development of RES policies also in the field of heat and in relation to the opportunities offered by the recent “Renewable Mineral Resources Decree for the Minor Islands” of the MiSE.

Waste - Current waste management should be streamlined with the objective of containing their production and of developing a wider differentiation in order to improve the recyclability of materials for energy purposes.  

Possible innovations: intelligent containers for waste collection, proper estimation and monitoring of waste removal fees, municipal waste differentiation and anaerobic digestion, digestate composting and biochar obtained from prunings (mixable and used as soil improvers).

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