Pilot Name: Liguria/Soil Consumption

Surface: 53.7sqkm

Municipalities involved: Chiavari, Lavagna, Cogorno, Leivi, Carasco

General description of the pilot:

The application scenario will be implemented by ISPRA in the Tigullio area.
The reference area is in the territory called Tigullio, composed of seven coastal Municipalities (Portofino, S.Margherita Ligure, Rapallo, Zoagli, Chiavari, Lavagna, Sestri Levante) stretched for about 40km along the coast and a certain number of internal municipalities. Their morphology and characters are in fact suitable as a meaningful example of the Ligurian coastal zone, with highly urbanized coasts and the urban dispersion running towards the internal areas. That is, they are a composite area, with protected sites (Portofino, Punta Manara, other Sites of Community Importance –SCIs-belonging to the Natura 2000 Network), coastal hilly groves, coastal plans formerly agricultural or industrial areas, presently more and more urbanised with a big presence of holiday second homes.
Among the general problems connected with Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and urbanization of coastal areas, two particular problems will be investigated within this pilot application:

  •  Saturation of plain areas with a growth of waterproof soils and the loss of valuable agricultural areas;
  •  Progressive ascent of the built area along the hills, with new roads that make more fragile the hydrogeological equilibrium of territory, and in general the increase of waterproof soil as above.

The Tigullio Area has been envisaged and suggested by the Ligurian Regional Authority as pilot application of LIFE+IMAGINE since, for the specific area, the Authority already implemented the “Plan for the Safeguard of Marine and Coastal Environment” (Regional Law N. 20/2006).
The plan implements the ICZM principles for which the processes of marine and terrestrial areas must be assessed through a common and multidisciplinary approach considering all the natural and anthropic factors influencing the coastal zone. In a holistic vision, is necessary to assess and evaluate the risks associated to human activity and infrastructures, in order to prevent the negative impacts on the coastal zone and according to the precautionary principle.
The pilot, among other objectives, will exploit the opportunity to integrate the existing plan with information regarding the inland coastal zones.

Involved Stakeholders:

  • Regione Liguria
  • All Municipalities present in the area
  • Chamber of Commerce
  • Associations of Architects and other professions, Guilds of the different economic activities
  • NGOs and citizens group
  • Hotel Manager Association, Tourism Agencies

 

Liguria_pilot_S

 Tigullio area and the focus (in red) on the five municipalities constituting the Liguria pilot site for soil consumption