The catastrophe in Emilia-Romagna, and before that the flooding in Casamicciola, the Val Ferret landslide, the tornado in Versilia, the flooding in the Marche region. These events sow death and destruction, especially since Italy is a country with extremely high hydrogeological risk. And in the face of extreme events (122 in 2022 alone), alongside the deaths and wasted lives, we must realize how, for years, funds to address hydrogeological instability have never been spent.
HYDROGEOLOGICAL DISTURBANCE
Net of the imponderable natural events, also amplified by the
climate crisis, one fact remains the basis of this series of environmental disasters. In Italy, we have been unable to do anything significant and lasting to reduce hydrogeological instability (the sum of factors that degrade a territory and make it unstable even in the face of heavy rainfall) for decades.
WASTED MONEY
For decades, governments have come and gone, making promises they don't keep, leaving Italy at extremely high risk of landslides. For example, according to Legambiente data, over half a million buildings (565 to be precise) are inhabited in areas at extremely high landslide risk.
HOW TO PREVENT HYDROGEOLOGICAL INSTABILITY?
Hydrogeological instability can only be prevented with money and local interventions. And yet, resources, at least on paper, are not lacking. ISPRA, the ministerial institute responsible for monitoring all environmental phenomena, reports that between 1990 and 2022, €9,5 billion was allocated to mitigate hydrogeological instability. Money unspent. Wasted. In Campania alone, one of the highest-risk areas, €1,5 billion has remained frozen for landslide prevention.
HYDROGEOLOGICAL INSTABILITY AND EUROPEAN FUNDS
Even European funds risk ending up in a no-man's land. Of the €2,5 billion of the entire NRRP (worth a total of €70 billion), specifically earmarked for interventions against hydrogeological instability, not a single cent has been committed. There is a lack of valid, feasible projects. Meanwhile, Italy is the only European country that has yet to submit its "national climate change adaptation plan." This is the basis, in terms of reconnaissance and programs, for accessing funds and not wasting them. And in terms of costs and land protection, we continue to have this ratio: 1 to 4, 1 euro of prevention for 4 euros allocated to emergency spending.
LANDSLIDES, FLOODS AND INFLATIONS IN ITALY
And yet Italy is a country at risk in terms of landslides, floods and inundationsNews reports tell us this, sometimes tragic, and repeated, even in the height of summer, as happened this year. And statistics point it out. The area affected by this type of risk is equal to almost 10 percent (9,8 to be exact) of the entire national surface area, and includes 81 percent of the municipalities (6.663)So we need to secure a part of Italy, with reliable projects and not with the usual phantom construction sites. What's blocking it? the worksIn some cases, there's a lack of plans, in others, there's a shortage of specialized technicians. Then there are the conflicts between local authorities, with court cases, which also contribute to the failure to begin work. And again: bureaucratic obstacles and high levels of conflict between the commissioners appointed for each project and the local authorities, who refuse to relinquish control of the territory. The final result: everything at a standstill and the risk of hydrogeological disaster is skyrocketing.
HYDROGEOLOGICAL INSTABILITY AND BUILDING AMNESTY
While we cannot spend a single euro to address the hydrogeological instability and make the territory and people safe, the only thing we can do well is condone building abuses in at-risk areasIndeed, the more at-risk an area is, the more construction is permitted. Illegal construction is permitted, pending a local or national building amnesty. In the municipalities of Casamicciola and Lacco Ameno, epicenters of disastrous floods, 6 amnesty applications have been submitted for a population of 13. Nearly one for every inhabitant. The judiciary has ordered the demolition of 2.922 buildings; only twenty-two have been completed.
Cover image source: Handle
LAND MAINTENANCE: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
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