Case study:INTERREG MED WETNET – Negotiated Planning Agreement “Wetland Contract of the Caorle lagoon system”: Difference between revisions
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Latest revision as of 10:27, 25 February 2020
Project overview
Status | Complete |
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Project web site | http://wetnet.interreg-med.eu |
Themes | Economic aspects, Environmental flows and water resources, Habitat and biodiversity, Land use management - agriculture, Social benefits, Spatial planning, Water quality |
Country | Italy |
Main contact forename | Claudio |
Main contact surname | Perin |
Main contact user ID | |
Contact organisation | Regione Veneto |
Contact organisation web site | http://www.regione.veneto.it/web/guest/home |
Partner organisations | |
Parent multi-site project | |
This is a parent project encompassing the following projects |
No |
Project summary
The great importance of testing the wetland contract of the Caorle Lagoon System as a voluntary, inclusive and integrated governance process emerged from the observations that many public bodies have competences in the management of wetlands, agricultural lands, fishing areas, navigation, hunting, environmental protection, etc. and there is a clear lack of coordination capable of defining the common interests of resources users.
The participative process developed between September 2018 and October 2019 engaged around 50 stakeholders that were previously identified and mapped. According to the path established by the Project, it began with a detailed analysis of the context and with public conferences with experts, addressed to the various stakeholders in order to clarify the main issues emerged in the first general meetings and in the previous attempts to start a similar initiative. The regulatory framework, the state of conservation of wetlands, the composition and structure of the local community and of interest groups were analysed. These preparatory activities were relevant in order to identify the main potential critical points of the process, choose the objectives to focus on the participatory process, establish the relationships between the interested parties and know their interests.
The regional government, the municipalities, the reclamation consortium, associations of the various professional categories, environmental associations, fishermen and hunters were the main actors in the process. The goal was to reach a negotiated agreement in compliance with the national and regional legal framework.
The process has allowed the creation of synergies between the various territorial actors and has started a comparison between different regional planning tools, which in turn refer to their own governance processes. The overlap of the Wetland Contract in the respective processes is a positive result that allows to give importance and visibility and helps to prepare the ground to guarantee a governance approach after the end of WETNET.
The participatory process developed through the definition of a Documents of Intent (MoU), an initial workshop (according to the method of EASW), 4 main territorial laboratories (focus groups) and a series of face-to-face meetings held throughout the whole process. A "long-term strategic scenario" obtained by consensus and negotiation between the main public entities with expertise in the various sectors was presented and discussed. The territorial laboratories were oriented to manage four main axes: governance, environment, socio-economic development, hydrology and water management. General assemblies focused on sharing the common objectives and settling disputes between stakeholders on critical issues, laying the foundations for an open discussion.
Some difficulties identified during the participatory process were the low involvement of some relevant stakeholders at the management level, the difficulty of some subjects to submit proposals. Some other difficulties emerged in gaining confidence from the most sceptical subjects and convincing some institutions to participate because they were not accustomed to sharing information with other parties.
Anyway, the comparison and conflicts between the interested parties have been less frequent than expected.
At the end of the process, the most relevant results are:
• Improved governance - based on a more transparent and inclusive governance model that goes beyond the previous excessively separate governance schemes.
• Empowerment of the local community - through the creation of new channels for the exchange of knowledge and the preparation of concrete actions.
• A new common vision of the future scenario trend was shared.
• Greater awareness of local stakeholders on the fragility of the wetland system and pressures on ecosystems;
• Empowerment of local stakeholders to monitor and preserve the quality of the wetland;
• Improvement of the dialogue between different interest groups;
• Greater awareness of decision-makers on the importance and effectiveness of the governance process.
• Wetland Contract of the Caorle Lagoon System - adapted to the Italian national legislation in the form of a negotiated agreement. Digital signing phase has started on October 30th, 2019.
• Program of actions (Action Plan) - based on a shared vision and operational objectives to improve governance related to the management of water resources, outlining the responsibilities for the implementation of actions aimed at protecting the environment, economic development and governance. It includes 55 actions:
- 25 relating to defining and recognizing a "representative institutional model" of single reference for the coordination of the various actors, by stimulating and activating actions for the management, protection, in the Caorle lagoon system;
- 2 relating to ensuring the hydraulic protection of the area from the risk of flooding and sediment from the canals, as well as from the upstream inputs;
- 2 relating to creating a network of meters to monitor all the data needed to define and know the current lagoon dynamics, in order to plan and plan the interventions on an extended and integrated knowledge base;
- 11 related to establishing an operational programme that takes account of all components of the system, through an integrated approach capable of restoring lagoon dynamics, ensuring and consolidating the protection, promotion and development of the wetland area;
- 15 related to consolidating and/or promoting instruments and actions for the protection and enhancement of the territory, as well as for the protection of habitats.
The main expectations and challenges after signing the Wetland contract are:
• A better definition of the structural and non-structural actions of the plan, of the priorities and of the financial resources available with no need to start time-consuming procedures.
• Early implementation of actions that don’t require financial resources.
• Updating and monitoring the implementation of the program of actions.
• Activating changes in the wetland governance framework, as well as enhancing the harmonization between local and regional regulatory framework;
• Facilitating the implementation of the action plan through local incentives and regional funding requests.
• Capitalizing the hard work done for the definition of the Contract and the program of action, through their implementation in the next years.
One of the main features (and bets) of the wetland contract of the Caorle Lagoon system is the postponement of the final choice of those responsible for the actions identified in the action plan and the identification of the sources of funding.
The choice was dictated not only by the strict terms for signing the contract, but also by the will to test a different way of defining and implementing individual actions.
This is a way in which none of the actions identified in the participatory process can be set aside, shifting over time the very delicate and time-consuming phase of definitively identifying those responsible and the resources that may not actually be immediately available but may become available in the future.
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