Architect and town planner, is a Unesco consultant on arid areas, Islamic society and ecosystems in danger. He worked for eight years in the Sahara desert and coordinated projects in Algeria, Jordan, Yemen and Ethiopia. He taught at the University of Florence,Algiers and is professor in the Master’s Degree courses at the University of Basilicata and Bologna. In his quality as Italian representative in the technical scientific committee of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and as President of the traditional knowledge Panel promoted a world data bank on the local knowledge system. At present this mission is being carried out by the research centre IPOGEA that was founded by the author and located in the Sassi of Matera. IPOGEA, Research Centre on Local and Traditional Knowledge, coordinates EU projects in 10 countries all over the Mediterranean.

Source: http://www.laureano.it/web/?page_id=13&language=en