Among tourism, residents and nature
One of the most popular shores in Italy, but also a residential area rich in biodiversity. The Emilia-Romagna coast has been facing changes with different strategies and interventions for several years already.
The coast of the Emilia-Romagna region stretches for about 130 km, with a population of about 500,000 residents. However, this number nearly doubles during the summer season, in addition to the almost 40 million tourists. Beyond touristic infrastructures, the coast also includes 34,000 hectares of natural protected areas including parks, natural reserves, ecological restoration areas, and Natura 2000 protected sites. In recent decades, the coast has seen an increase in its vulnerability to sea level rise and storm surges: this is due to subsidence phenomena (lowering of the ground level) and an increasingly scarce supply of sediment and gravel on the coast, which used to be brought in by rivers but now – due to changes in water regimes – does not reach it. This lack of sediment makes the area more vulnerable to the force of the sea, enhancing the phenomenon of erosion.
The role of urbanization
In addition to the previously mentioned impacts, common also to other Adriatic coastlines, the urbanization process that started in the Region in the 1950s and continued until the end of the last century to accommodate the higher number of tourists has created additional exposure to sea-related hazards: the increasing tendency to construct buildings and infrastructure too close to the beach, replacing the dune belt that used to act as a barrier to the sea, has contributed to lowering the soil level, making the coast even more vulnerable to flooding and erosion.
The first response: the Strategy for integrated coastal zone management
Since the early 2000s, the Emilia-Romagna Region has been working to address these issues: the first Strategy for integrated coastal zone management was approved in 2005, and it included the use of coastal nourishment as a means to counter erosion and marine encroachment. However, this Strategy and the Guidelines contained within did not take significant account of climate change and its effects (including rising mean sea level). The urgency of this issue stressed the need to create a new Strategy that took up the principles of integrated coastal zone management but entailed a specific focus on the vulnerabilities of the area to climate impacts, and proposed the most effective countermeasures.
Designing the future together: What Coast Will it Be?
Thanks to its participation in the Adriaclim project, the Emilia-Romagna Region had the opportunity to launch a participatory process that involved several local stakeholders (Civil Protection, Regional Agencies, ArpaE) and the regional coastal community in the creation of the new Integrated Management Strategy for coastal defense and adaptation to climate change (GIDAC). This co-design and co-creation process, called “What Coast Will it Be“, was carried out with the citizenship throughout 2021. Kicking-off with an Information Day, this first phase included several meetings and seminars in which participants shared a knowledge framework, identified together the main vulnerabilities and needs of the different areas, and defined a common vision as to how the coast should look like in 2050. Currently the process has reached a stage where the Region has approved the finalized document containing all the inputs provided by citizens through the online platform PartecipAzioni.
An example of "vertical" adaptation: the Rimini waterfront
When it is not possible to set back the established built-up area, it is necessary to act on the existing waterfront in order to restore the height of the beaches. An interesting case of this adaptation strategy can be found in the southern area of the Rimini Municipality: a waterfront redevelopment project that involved raising the ground level, together with the stop of road traffic and the planting of native vegetation to increase ground stability. Various wellness services for citizens and tourists were also installed. This intervention, which makes the waterfront more accessible as well as “smart” and focused on the human dimension, is a unique example in Italy. The redevelopment is proceeding in batches and also includes hydraulic regulation of the area immediately behind the waterfront.
Next steps
Now that the Region’s Integrated Management Strategy for Coastal Defense and Adaptation to Climate Change is nearly complete, a system for monitoring both the implementation of new measures and their effectiveness is being developed. In addition, the participatory process will continue over time, even after the Strategy is approved: keeping alive the dialogue with the local actors and stakeholders is necessary to contribute to the goals of reducing vulnerability, conserving ecosystems and preserving the coastal system for future generations.
The Intergenerational pact for the defense and adaptation of the Emilia-Romagna coast to climate change
The path chosen for participation in the Innovation Camp call is called the Intergenerational pact for the defense and adaptation of the Emilia-Romagna coast to climate change, and it aims to bring together a small group of stakeholders, half policy experts and half active young citizens between 18 and 30 years old, to collaboratively define ways to work together in the implementation of the Strategy. Another objective of the workshops is to share communication tools: that is, to identify which narratives and means are the most effective for telling to a wide and diverse audience about the coastal environment and its issues. The third objective of the shared tables is the creation of a monitoring system for continuous knowledge sharing: in this process, young people learn but can also teach: through the PartecipAzioni platform, the ideas and proposals of younger citizens will be shared and evaluated, and the best prototypes will be selected to be implemented in the future.
Very often the views and ideas of the younger generations can teach a lot to experts as well.