From agriculture environmental services for the management of river area
The regulatory tools to favour the development of environmental management activities are by now available but remuneration and administrative procedures still present some difficulties: a concrete case in the Po Valley
Paolo Cielo, Silvia Bertolotto
In fluvial areas, the watercourse alters the morphology of the land to varying degrees through the activity of erosion and deposition, within the framework of a dynamic equilibrium. The Civil Code recognised the right of ‘flooding’ of the lands left free by the river to the owners of the maps with terms (Articles 941-947). This right could be exercised after an administrative procedure establishing the expulsion of the lands from the riverbed and verifying the applicant’s entitlement. In addition to this procedure, which led to the acquisition of full ownership of the former state land, the law provided the concession of the lands still in the hands of the State, for the usage of the coppice or the cultivation of poplars (R.D.L. 18-6-1936 n. 1338).
The acquisition of the new lands, or its usage for various purposes, compensated the owners for the land losses caused by the movement of the active riverbed, which led to the consequent submersion of the fertile lands.
With the continuous change of the fluvial layout, much faster than the administrative practices, a situation of patrimonial and cadastral indefiniteness occurred along the river belts,which no longer correspond to the morphology and the cultivation status of the alluvial areas. On the other hand, the increasing availability of mechanical equipment and the agricultural subsidies given proportionally to the cultivated area have pushed farmers towards the search for super crops to sow, with a consequent increasingly intensive use of the river area.
In particular, arable crops were extended to the edges of the active area, while reclaimed moorlands and wetlands and natural riparian forests were replaced by specialized clonal poplar groves (AA.VV., 2001) (photo 1).
The agricultural ecosystems thus formed to replace the natural ones, however, were only partially productive in the medium term and strongly exposed to flood damage as a result of increasingly violent and destructive flooding. The expansion of agricultural crops, together with other natural factors (climate change and the progressive deepening of the main riverbed of the Po and its major tributaries) and anthropogenic factors (unsuitable hydraulic regulation works, uncontrolled riverbed excavations), made the floodplain area progressively more fragile over time (AA.VV., 1988).
Also following the disastrous flood events of 1994 and 2000, the river belts were identified as elements of particular naturalistic and public interest for the hydraulic governo (photo 2). The Cu- rera Law (n. 37 of 5-1-1994 – Rules for the environmental protection of state owned areas of rivers, streams, lakes and public waters) and other rules issued by the Po River Basin Authority (Plan to remove river belts – Psff adopted by the Po River Kissing Authority with deliberation n. 26/97 of 11-12-1997 – and Plan for the hydrogeological structure of the Po-Pai river basin, adopted by the Po River Basin Authority with deliberation n. 18 of 26-4-2001) have intended to limit the cultivation of crops for productive purposes, while moving at the same time tools for a different management of the river area in order to gradually recover its complexity and biodiversity.
For farms that cultivate, for various reasons, state-owned or former state-owned areas, on which it is no longer permitted to cultivate for productive purposes, the new body of legislation provides for the possibility of becoming managers of the river area for environmental purposes. An application for a concession must be submitted together with a programme of activities aimed at restoring the natural river environment integrated with a low environmental impact agricultural system (Article 32(4)(a) of the Implementing Rules for the River Po River Basin Authority Decision No 1/99). This concession may also be granted free of charge, if the area concerned falls within national or regional protected natural areas (Legislative Decree No 152 of 11-5-1999 – Provisions on the protection of waters against pollution and transposition of Directive 91/271/ EEC concerning urban waste water treatment and Directive 91/676/ EEC concerning the protection of waters against pollution caused by nitrates from agricultural sources).
In particular, the programme should indicate in which areas natural vegetation strips need to be restored and reconstituted, where current crops should be converted to low-impact models (medium to long cycle broadleaf trees, complex scrubland) or where it is preferable to preserve traditional agricultural practices. There are no minimum area restrictions, but the programme must ensure a certain impact on the land by considering areas of at least 20-30 ha.
A case study
In order to illustrate a first example of a river area management programme, we present the case of the Visconti and Torre d’Isola farms in the municipalities of Bozzole, Frassineto Po and Valmacca in the province of Alessandria and Breme and Sartirana Lomellina in the province of Pavia, which have undertaken a coordinated set of initiatives aimed at reconstituting, preserving and enhancing the natural environment – the river. These activities are described in the “programme for the management of the Po river area between the confluence of the Sesia and Rotaldo rivers aimed at reconstituting and enhancing the traditional river environment” (Cielo et al., 2005).
The area concerned extends on both banks of the Po river between the confluence of the Sesia and Rotaldo rivers, for a total area of about 760 ha (Figure 1). The Piedmontese part of the area (80% of its surface area) falls entirely within the regional system of protected areas of the Po river belt and in particular within the Po and Orba River Park. The soils are included in the A (mainly) and B (mainly) strips of the Psff. The areas are privately and state-owned.
The objectives
The aim of the programme is the reconstitution of an environment with a good degree of ecological stability, in which the natural component of the strip adjacent to the watercourse separates the river ecosystem from the traditional agricultural environment according to bands with a decreasing degree of naturalness, starting from the banks of the Po river towards the embankment, and is a source of biodiversity and landscape improvement. The actions of the programme are grouped in 3 axes of intervention. Axis 1 includes actions for the reconstitution of the natural environment and land management (preparation of strips of arboriculture from wood as a filter between natural areas and those with a greater productive vocation – photo 3); conservation of naturalistic areas (woods, shrubs and grasslands – photo 4); environmental restoration of degraded sites.
The remaining actions of axes 2 and 3, developed at a preliminary project level and optional for the farm, aim at the enhancement of the agroforestry economy (poplar eco certification, energy enhancement of biomass, environmental management of fishing on the river Po) and at a greater use of the area (creation of nature trails, recovery and maintenance of rural roads, recovery and renovation of rural buildings for temporary or permanent exhibitions, agritourism activities, dissemination and naturalistic accompaniment).
The drawing up of the programme, with the cadastral and patrimonial checks, took about 6 months of work, while 3 years passed from the beginning of the activities to the obtaining of the authorizations (figure 2). Bibliographic, cadastral, forestry and soil surveys were carried out. The multidisciplinary approach to cover agricultural, forestry, environmental and naturalistic aspects was very important. Data were organised and analysed through GIS. The intertwined lines have been defined in collaboration with the public bodies involved and in particular with the Po and Orba river park management body.
The programme, drafted in draft and accompanied by maps and preliminary projects of the interventions, was then submitted for approval. Subsequently, the applications for the concession of the state-owned areas were sent to the competent offices of the Piedmont and Lombardy Regions. The concession, requested for 30 years (considered the minimum period necessary for the conclusion of the cultivation cycles of the woody plantations), was issued for 19 years, which may be extended if necessary.
The interventions provided for in Axis 1 started in 2000 and, to date, about 30% of them have been realized. For their financing the farm has used public contributions (EEC Regulation 2080/92 and EC 1257/99 – measures F, H and I) and own resources.
Conclusions
The rules on river areas require changes in the cultivation and management of riparian and alluvial land. The community has become aware of the particular value of river environments, which are precious natural nuclei for flat areas and precious buffer strips between river dynamics and urbanized areas.
The activation of programmes for the requalification and management of the river area can be a springboard for the tourist development of the territory, an opportunity to work and ascertain the patrimonial and cultural context of the land surrounding the watercourse. Today, however, there are still few private and public entities that have taken up the challenge of environmental management of these areas (as per Presidential Decree 22-12-2000, pursuant to Legislative Decree 31-3-1998 n. 112).
As demonstrated by the pre-evidence case, one of the first at national level, farmers can assume a fundamental role for the conservation of the river ecosystem through the provision of environmental services, as provided for by the Decree n. 228 of 18-5-2001 (Orientation and modernization of the agricultural sector, pursuant to Article 7 of Law 5-3-2001, n. 57). Bureaucratic and technical-operational difficulties cannot be concealed, given the complexity of the ecosystem (Martignani et al., 1998). However, a correct methodological approach and a good collaboration between private and public allowed to overcome, in the case analysed, any obstacle that emerged.
However, the financial aspects need to be further considered, as environmental and land maintenance services today struggle to offer adequate forms of remuneration for the owners and lessees of the funds. It would be necessary to identify ad hoc resources for this type of inter twenty, perhaps drawing on the funds pre adopted by the law n. 183 of 18-5-1989 (“Rules for the organizational and functional reorganization of soil protection”), and those of the CAP.
Paolo Cielo
Forestry Doctor ForTeA associated studio – Turin for [email protected]
Silvia Bertolotto
Freelance agricultural expert gsber [email protected]