Security, innovation and participation. These are for Legambiente the three pillars on which the territorial, economic and social reconstruction of the island of Ischia must be based, wounded by the flood of November 2022 and even before that by the earthquake of 2017.
A fragile island aggravated first and foremost by the high value of land consumption equal to a third of the island's surface (32,9%), with peaks of 47,6% in Lacco Ameno and 45,4% in Ischia. And where a good 15,4% of land consumption occurred in areas at hydrogeological risk1, with peaks of 26,70% in Serrara Fontana and 24,56% in Barano. The high value of land consumption does nothing but increase exposure to risk.
Faced with this picture, for Legambiente there are ten thematic areas of intervention on which these three pillars must rest and which, in summary, can represent the points of a National Manifesto for the reconstruction of Ischia by 2030 and a virtuous model to look to in the future also for other areas of the country: they range from the issue of territorial security in terms of prevention and adaptation to the stop to land consumption and building abuses, from legality to the enhancement of the island's beauties from tourism and quality agriculture, to energy regeneration with the development of renewables and energy communities, then inclusion and participation.
Thematic areas that translate into very specific actions: from the relocation of the most vulnerable residential and production settlements to tools to prevent illegality in contracts and at work, from the upgrading of purification plants and the sewerage network to the establishment of a protected area to protect the nature of Mount Epomeo, from the promotion of Renewable and Solidarity Energy Communities (CERS) to the establishment of a local real estate market observatory, just to name a few.
Proposals and themes that the environmental association has summarized in the dossier "Cantiere Ischia 2030" and that it presented today in Ischia, in Casamicciola, in the presence of Giovanni Legnini, Extraordinary Commissioner for the reconstruction after the 2017 earthquake and delegated commissioner for the post-landslide emergency 2022 and the deputy commissioner delegated for the post-landslide emergency 2022 Gianluca Loffredo, on the occasion of the arrival of Goletta Verde in Ischia, in Campania, and of the stage of the itinerant campaign congress I cantieri della transitoecologia (also told on the website cantieridellatransizione.legambiente.it with the updated map of construction sites, stories and proposals that go in the right direction of the ecological transition).
For the environmentalist association Ischia represents the construction site of construction sites par excellence, the opportunity to turn the page in the governance of the territory; but to do this it is essential to involve the entire island and not only the Municipalities affected by the latest tragic events because, while respecting local autonomy, the entire island territory must be considered in its entirety and needs a unitary governance.
An opportunity to ensure the maximum possible safety, safeguard the soil and the landscape, consume less energy and material, offer new and lasting job opportunities to the youth of Ischia. This is why the choice to tell Ischia as a construction site is at the center of its campaign.
“To win the challenge of rethinking and realizing the future of the splendid Island of Ischia – declares Stefano Ciafani, national president of Legambiente – we cannot rely, however effective, only on a commissioner structure. We need the protagonism of local forces starting from local institutions, from the productive world, from civil society as a whole.
For this reason, we want to open a discussion with institutional, productive, social and citizen protagonists on our proposals to define and implement them in a collective and participatory way. At a national level, we ask that a law be approved as soon as possible to say stop to land consumption and to speed up the demolition of illegal buildings, putting an end to the logic of building amnesties”.
“In Ischia – adds Mariateresa Imparato, president of Legambiente Campania – the philosophy of planning cannot therefore be that of "where it was as it was" but that of "rebuilding better and in safety". This will mean that a certain number of buildings, private and public, will necessarily have to be relocated.
We are aware, and we do not underestimate it, of the social impact that delocalizations can have on families and businesses. It will therefore be essential, first and foremost, for the institutions to guarantee a transparent and participatory process with an important role also for the media and all organized civil society to carefully manage this phase”.
Today's meeting was also the occasion in which Giovanni Legnini, Extraordinary Commissioner for the reconstruction after the 2017 earthquake and delegated commissioner for the post-landslide emergency 2022, together with the deputy commissioner delegated for the post-landslide emergency 2022, Gianluca Loffredo, presented the Plan of interventions to secure the territory and mitigate hydrogeological risk.
"Today – declares the Extraordinary Commissioner Giovanni Legnini – I felt very emotional for the entry of Goletta Verde into the Port of Casamicciola, just dredged and restored after the invasion of mud and debris with the catastrophe of last November 26th.
I am very grateful to Legambiente for having planned a stop of Goletta Verde and a moment of common reflection on the future of the Island in the name of concrete and far-sighted proposals contained in the document presented today together with the Mayors, the Region and the citizens. The port and the accessory and service areas hit by the dramatic landslide have returned to being beautiful and usable, with the dredging intervention and many other works that we managed to complete in just five months. The fact that Goletta Verde is one of the first boats to enter the port of Casamicciola is a source of great satisfaction. Ischia is ready to welcome the tourists it deserves and to restart safely.
With everyone's commitment we will be able to overcome the enormous challenges of post-earthquake and post-landslide reconstruction, which for the most part must be completed in the name of safety, sustainability and the environment".
Land safety is fundamental: For Legambiente, the reconstruction plan envisaged following the 2017 earthquake and the 2022 flood, which must be approved by the Campania region, must take into account all the elements of risk, vulnerability and danger in order to guarantee the maximum possible safety for the population and production activities; the results of scientific investigations and the best available construction technologies; and measures to adapt to climate change, foreseeing a greater frequency of extreme weather events (floods and heat waves).
The critical issues of Ischia, the plague of illegal building. To put an end to the plague of illegal building, Legambiente proposes three proposals in this regard. 1) it is essential to speed up the examination of all the amnesty practices that lie in the archives of the six Municipalities. 2) Monitor the territory to block the abuse already at the laying of the first stone. 3) Proceed with the demolitions of what cannot be remedied, to eliminate risk situations. Demolitions also constitute a deterrent. The number of demolitions: As for demolitions, according to the data collected by Legambiente as part of the campaign “Abbatti l'abuso”, in the Municipality of Ischia alone, out of 1.274 demolition orders issued from 2004 to 2022, only 175 have been carried out, equal to 13,8%2. In short, almost eight times out of ten, those who have built illegally in the Municipality of Ischia and have been the subject of a demolition order have, so far, gotten away with it. At the expense of the safety of the territory, the environment, those who have built legally and even those who have committed building abuse but can benefit from a pardon.
Delays on the sustainability front: (Sustainable Islands Report 2023 Legambiente and CNR-IIA). Separate waste collection is far behind: in Ischia with an annual production of 38.987 tons of waste we still stand at an average of 45% of separate waste collection, with the best performance of the municipality of Ischia which however is stuck at 50%, while the worst figure is Serrara Fontana with 21%. An annual production of 625 kg/inhabitant is recorded, well above the national average which stands at below 500 kg/inhabitant. On the renewables front, as in all the smaller islands, Ischia also records a slow development of renewable sources.
In absolute terms, the photovoltaic installation is 3.960,40 kW, equal to 0,06 kW/inhabitant, approximately 16% of the national average. Solar thermal in Ischia stands at 2021 m1.504,33 installed, as of 2. As for wind power, we are at year zero. The dispersion of the water network stands at 26%, below the national average of 43%. The problem that still persists on the island is that of purification. Finally, on the mobility front, the Campania island has a car fleet of 39.249 vehicles out of a population of 62.374 inhabitants, equal to 63,5 cars for every 100 inhabitants (including children and the elderly). Furthermore, with regard to air pollution, 63% of the cars are less than or equal to Euro 4 and only 37% are Euro 5 or more.
Article published on 12 July 2023 - 17:05
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