Good intentions and low gear. Italy makes little progress in the security of the territories and of the citizens who inhabit them. The Higher Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (Ispra) does not mince words to once again denounce the state of danger in which millions of people live. The government has made big announcements on the issue, but consolidated risk data is dismal. A tenth of the Italian population lives in areas at hydrogeological risk, it is written in the 2018 edition of the Environmental Yearbook edited by Ispra.
In 2017 there were 172 landslides which caused 5 victims, 31 injured, very serious damage to roads and communication routes. To pay the price, in particular: Abruzzo, Campania, Sicily, Trentino-Alto Adige, Lombardy and Marche. For earthquakes in 2017, four events exceeded magnitude 5, with epicenters in the province of L'Aquila. The least serious, with a lower magnitude were 16, of which 13 in central Italy. Many damages are still to be quantified and the post-earthquake is very slow. But Italy has also been hit by drought, with effects on the quality of the territories and on agricultural and industrial activities.
It's not much better these days in the Northern Regions, but in 2017 rainfall was below the norm by about 22%. Really a annus horribilis for thousands of farms, with an overall second place since 2001 among the driest since 1961. Italian farms, despite climate-altering factors, are growing in organic production. By now more than 15% of the national Utilized Agricultural Area (UAA) is treated with non-harmful products. Farms are 5,8% of the total and again in 2017 the surfaces converted and those undergoing organic conversion grew by 6,3% compared to 2016. Peaks of excellence were found in Sicily, Puglia and Calabria.
A separate chapter in the Report is occupied by greenhouse gas emissions, which decreased by 1990% from 2016 to 17,5. This is certainly a positive figure, although not yet in line with the European average downwards in view of the 2030 strategy and decarbonisation. Bathing is also improving with more than 89% of coastal waters having satisfactory quality. The quality status of these waters - writes Ispra - in relation to the hygienic-sanitary factors, even falls into an excellent class. The waters of rivers with good and high level standards also improve in Valle d'Aosta, Liguria, Molise, Piedmont, Emilia-Romagna, Umbria, Marche, Lazio, Abruzzo.
From these data, a general uneven picture emerges. The factors for improvement continue to be obscured by hydrogeological risks, if not by the lack of prevention. Italians could be much better off and safer, but the imbalance remains between everything that needs to be done to make the country safe and what laws, rules, regulations, powers, Authorities allow us to do. A complex and often disjointed machine, also a prisoner of political logics removed from any citizens' powers of control.
