A DECREE FROM THE PUGLIA REGION DOES NOT ALLOW TO SEE A POSSIBLE ADVANTAGE, IN TERMS OF EFFECTIVENESS, OF THE TRANSFER OF SKILLS CONSERVATION AND PROTECTION OF DUNE CORDS TO PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS. THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF URBAN PLANNING PUGLIA SECTION, URBAN@IT AND THE ITALIAN SOCIETY OF ENVIRONMENTAL GEOLOGY SIGEA – APS PUGLIA, HOPE THAT THE REGIONAL COUNCIL WILL APPROVE THE ART. 52 OF THE LAW PROPOSAL “URGENT PROVISIONS FOR THE REorganization of the regional order in various matters”, SO THAT THE BAN ON THE CONCESSION OF STATE LAND IN DUNE CORD AREAS IS RESTORED, WHICH GUARANTEES THEIR PROTECTION AND CONSERVATION OBJECTIVES
The report ISPRA 215/2015, “The habitats of Italian sandy coasts: ecology and conservation issues”, quote verbatim: “Sandy coasts and their associated dunes are fragile environments, currently exposed to numerous forms of disturbance and highly threatened on a global, European and national scale.
The phenomenon of degradation and loss of dune environments affects all countries of the European Union and is particularly intense in those bordering the Mediterranean. Italy is part of the Mediterranean Basin considered one of the global biodiversity hotspots, identified on the basis of species richness and rate of habitat loss. The Mediterranean is an exceptional center of biodiversity, but also an area populated by more than 450 million inhabitants and subject to intense anthropic activities. In this context, the environments of the sandy coasts stand out for their fragility and vulnerability, being subjected to multiple forms of anthropic pressure, associated above all with tourism development”.
A law to protect the coast?
In the same year, 2015, given the need to safeguard dune belts, cliffs and Mediterranean scrub, the governor of Puglia, Niki Vendolaissued a decree prohibiting tourist-recreational concessions through offers of services.
Subsequently, with theart. 66 of LR 32/2022 which modified the art. 14 of LR 17/2015 (Discipline of the protection and use of the coast), the Puglia region I had the ban on state concessions has been eliminated in areas of dune cords.
In the next few days, the Regional Council will vote to approve the art. 52 of the Proposed Law “Urgent provisions for the reorganization of the regional system in various matters”, so that the ban on state concessions in dune cordon areas is reinstated, guaranteeing the objectives of protection and conservation.
For experts, critical issues are difficult to overcome with concessions to private individuals
In this regard, theNational Institute of Urban Planning Puglia section, Urban@it e Italian Society of Environmental GEology SIGEA – APS Pugliawhich already in the previous press release, dated 1 September 2023, had highlighted critical issues that would be difficult to overcome if the granting of stretches of land were approved dune coastal.
The press release signed by the three bodies raises the question of whether the amendment to LR 17/2015 “is consistent with the guidelines of the Region itself for the Regional Strategy for adaptation to climate change, which includes thecoastal erosion among the risks, making use of the studies carried out by the Interreg AdriaClim Project, aimed at improving the adaptation capacity of coastal areas to climate changes?”.
L’Order of Geologists of Puglia furthermore adds that i sistemi dunali they constitute, at the same time, a natural barrier against high water, a protection for the back-beach environments and an accumulation of sand capable of feeding the beach itself and therefore partially counteracting the effects of erosion.
The Legambiente Report
And again, according to the last one “Report on beaches”, by Legambientethe remaining dunes are still subject to the threat of human action and coastal erosion, which in Puglia has increased fivefold in the last thirty years.
And the retreat of the coastline, environmentalists explain, is often linked to the demolition of the dunes themselves. In short, a shrinking of dunes leads to an increased risk of coastal erosion.
The legislative change favors beach concessions
The proposed legislative change, however, seems aimed at favoring beach concessions to the detriment of the dune cordon, which constitutes a fundamental defense against erosion, allowing the beaches to resist more effectively.
Reinstate the ban on state concessions
In the note, therefore, the president prof. eng. Francesco Rotondo, for the INU Puglia Regional Board, prof. arch. Nicola Martinelli, president Urban@it and president Dr. geol. Vincenzo Iurillifor the SIGEA-APS Puglia Section Board of Directors, they point out “how numerous national and community resources have been well used for protection and conservation interventions, the only possible activities in the dune environment”.
In the current context of climate changes, we cannot afford the risk of unforeseen consequences resulting from poorly planned or insufficiently controlled interventions on a fragile and non-renewable ecosystem – continues the statement -. This ecosystem represents the only truly effective resource in the fight against coastal erosion that afflicts our region.
“Therefore – concludes the note – the hope that the Regional Council approves the art is expressed again, with strength and hope in the ability to safeguard the public interest of the councillors. 52 of the Proposed Law “Urgent provisions for the reorganization of the regional system in various matters”, reinstating the ban on state concessions in areas of dune cordons, guaranteeing the objectives of protection and conservation”.