The European Union gets Italy out of trouble with fires. It's always there to knock. The intentional disasters that are scourging the country from North to South already weigh 33 million euros on the Community budget. An initial allocation was decided the other day to restore the destroyed areas, but also to prevent. A term that actually sounds a bit strange these days.
The controversies that spared no one – from the central government to volunteers – almost all revolve around the capacity and preventive organization of such serious phenomena. On balance there is something true, if the means available have not proved to be up to the risk and the surveillance of the territories has been light. The subsequent costs to repair are skyrocketing. And it doesn't matter if they are already included in the 2014-2020 EU programming.
The first Region that could commit part of the EU money is Sicily, where the prospect is already accompanied by appeals to monitor good use. The funds are part of the 2014-2020 planning, where, however, there are specific measures for the benefit of both public and private entities. The attention given to the latter requires the requirement of ownership or the simple management of the destroyed land. It may work, but watch out for investigations, for suspicions that unknown hands have decided to set the fire precisely to obtain this aid.
It must be said that the EU as a whole destines a third of the resources also to other calamities. In particular to desertification and hydrogeological risk. Here arises the other big question of autumn-winter 2017-2018. The fires have caused damage to the environment which will have repercussions on the territories. The technicians are now in agreement in imagining the coming months characterized by emergencies due to landslides, landslides and environmental imbalances. European contributions can be used to build large swathes of environmental protection. It will take projects and ideas. In the specific case of fires, interventions are described for firebreaks, distribution networks and tanks for recovering the necessary water. There are funds, then, for forest areas, where flora and fauna are often protected only on paper.
It is known that the scourge of poaching has not been healed and the animals that died in the fires are the other ugly face of the lack of prevention. However, as always, European money will be disbursed on the basis of projects approved and examined by various bodies. The Regions have made it known that, in compliance with the regulations, it will not be possible to start reforestation works until five years after the fires. A small deterrent against those who burn to make money on aid. In fact, the Sicily Region has already made it known that there may be exceptions, but there is a need for incontrovertible documentation. If Europe helps us, it must be well repaid.
