Land of Fires, Vadalà: "Reclamation must be accompanied by land regeneration."

Remediation, but above all, restoration of a future for areas affected by pollution. This was the guiding principle of the conference "Synergies for Surveillance, Regeneration, and Sustainable Development of the Territory," sponsored by the University of Naples Parthenope at Villa Doria d'Angri.

At the center of the discussion is the Land of Fires, addressed not only from the perspective of preventing and combating environmental crimes, but also from the perspective of redevelopment and reuse of the areas once the remediation work is completed.

The Special Commissioner for the Land of Fires, Giuseppe Vadalà, announced new measures and highlighted the resources made available by the Government.

The government has allocated an additional €200 million, another crucial step forward. Work continues at full speed: 12 tons of waste have been removed, and three cleanup projects between Giugliano and Aversa will begin by the end of the year.

Vadalà then identified regeneration as the next phase after cleanup: "Remediation must be accompanied by regeneration of the territory. A reclaimed area can once again become a resource for social and landscape purposes, for renewable energy, and for new productive activities."

The commissioner also drew attention to routine waste management, explaining that the work is proceeding in conjunction with the Region, the Municipalities, and the four Area Authorities. "Prevention and enforcement, but also waste management: we are working along these lines with the Region, the Municipalities, and the four Area Authorities to improve the municipalities' routine waste management after the first collection."

Also on the table is an updated action plan for the Land of Fires, which, according to Vadalà, will be presented to the Council of Europe next spring in response to the requirements of the European Court of Human Rights ruling.

After a year and a half, we are finalizing the update of the action plan, which will be presented to the Council of Europe next spring, as required by the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights. This is a step change that we are all making: the government with the commissioner, the prefects, the police forces, and especially the local authorities.

The theme of regeneration has also been addressed through the experiences of reclaiming so-called brownfields, former industrial sites marked by abandonment and contamination.

Francesco Colangelo, professor at Parthenope and organizer of the meeting, emphasized the need to connect environmental interventions with reindustrialization. "We have sites that have been abandoned for decades and are suffering from a lack of industrialization, pollution, employment, and local development. Remediation must go hand in hand with reindustrialization and redevelopment projects, with a synergistic and multidisciplinary approach."

Salvatore Puca, general director of the ASI consortium, shared the same view, sharing his experience with the redevelopment of the former Montefibre plant in Acerra. "A brownfield isn't simply an abandoned factory, but a story of industrial, employment, and environmental impact. Redevelopment must begin with remediation and culminate in the creation of conditions for new activities, infrastructure, and employment, preventing a repetition of the causes that led to the site's closure."

The conference brought together representatives from institutions, regulatory bodies, judicial authorities, industry, and scientific research, with the aim of strengthening coordination and transforming territorial surveillance into a prevention tool.

In closing, some concrete cases of brownfield redevelopment were presented, with the experiences of Eni Rewind, Edison Regea, Herambiente and Greenthesis.