Problems and purposes
Faced with the challenge of climate change, the actions to be taken range from contrasting the causes of the global temperature rise, to the preparation of adaptation plans that minimize impacts and support the resilient capacities of the territories. Following the urgent need to prepare plans for adaptation to climate change at national, regional and local level, repeatedly affirmed by the European Union which calls for their integration into public policies and territorial planning, and in continuity with the actions undertaken in as part of COP21 in Paris, the Abruzzo Region, in collaboration with CDCA and Climalia, launched the PACC Abruzzo project - Climate Change Adaptation Plan of the Abruzzo Region (Link 1).
The first commitment of the PACC Abruzzo project is to formulate a climate profile of the Abruzzo Region from which to develop a specific adaptation plan for the Region.
In order to formulate an adaptation plan that is effective, the involvement of the various stakeholders is absolutely essential. To this end, the Abruzzo PACC intends to ensure an active stakeholder participation process. Their involvement, in fact, will guarantee the identification of resilient capacities in order to favor their systematization in the future strategy (Link 1).
The general aims of the process that contribute to different degrees to the adaptation strategy are:
- provide information;
- share goals;
- detect perceptions of climate risks;
- mapping resilience, gathering experiences to classify existing capacities in the area;
- integrate needs and priorities;
- promote enlargement, through the involvement of contiguous or similar realities to the initially identified actors (Di Pierri, 2017a).
History and geography
Abruzzo is a region of central Italy of 1,317,000 inhabitants. Due to its geographical characteristics, the Abruzzo region is one of the regions of the entire Italian territory with the highest vulnerability to climate change. This is due to the fact that the region is characterized by the highest climatic diversity of peninsular Italy (Link 1).
The government of the Region, after the nineties, was characterized by a regular alternation of center-right and center-left. Currently the president of the Region is Luciano D'Alfonso, who in the regional elections of June 2014, with a wide array (PD, 3 civic lists, Democratic Center, SEL, IdV, PSI) wins with 319,591 votes (46.2%) on the outgoing president Giovanni Chiodi (FI, NCD, FdI). The center-right is defeated with 95,000 fewer votes than in 2008. The M5S also emerges, obtaining 147,716 votes (21.38%) and 6 seats in the Council like the center-right. In D'Alfonso's program, "participation" is a term that has an important place.
“Today the Abruzzo Region is not transparent. It does not allow citizens to see [...] what is happening inside it, how decisions are made, how public money is used. There is a lack of [...] digital innovation tools to allow citizens to freely access information, data and services through the network. The Abruzzo Region is not open. It is not possible for citizens and their associations to contribute to decision-making processes through consultation and participation paths, starting with the most felt issues such as health, transport, environmental and territorial policies; it is not possible to participate in the monitoring [...] of administrative results and compliance with government objectives; it is not possible to actively contribute to the care of common goods through forms of active citizenship. Without transparency and participation, discretion, arbitrariness and the ability to influence interest groups grow, prevails over the guarantee of the rights and interests of all, and the daily risk of abuse of power, corruption and illegality increases. Precisely because of this need, both new and effective instruments of participatory democracy should be envisaged, aimed at involving citizens in the fundamental choices to be made, and [...] embodying the obligation of representatives to be accountable for their decisions, as well as being responsible for the results achieved. We want to give back to the citizens their Region and we will do so by launching an administrative and legislative revolution in the first six months of government based on a new law to promote the transparency of the public administration [...], to offer citizens the opportunity to directly control every step of the administrative life, starting from the budget choices. We would like to conceive a participatory budget, [...] in which the citizen dialogues with the Authority and decides [...] the policies to be undertaken (the case of Porto Allegre is known) "(D'Alfonso, 2014, p .8).
Although the program obviously talks about environment and protection, renewable resources, etc., the question of climate change does not arise. In the Council Resolution, no. 308 of 29 April 2015, which approved the "Abruzzo region resilient: realization of the PACC" project, it is possible to trace some steps relating to this interest. The resolution "acknowledges" that the Region has been studying the effects of climate change on the regional territory, which with DG 1382 of 29/12/04 had started a feasibility project for the assessment of the vulnerability and impacts of climatic changes on the region and hypothesis of adaptation entrusted to ENEA. Also with DG 412 of 26 / 4/2006 the Region joined the association "Alliance for the climate", confirming its inclination to implement actions and studies on the subject. Reference is then made to the National Strategy of the Ministry of the Environment of March 2015 as well as the indications of the Climate-ADAPT platform and of the Strategy for adaptation to climate change of the European Commission of 2013 (DG
Finally, the programmatic document presented by the councilor responsible for environmental matters Mario Mazzocca and the favorable opinion of the Director of the Department of Public Works, Territorial Government and Environmental Policies, on the legitimacy and regularity of the provision, certifying that it does not directly entail charges to be borne by the regional budget (DG 308/2015). The resolution also approves the time schedule for the construction process of the PACC. It provided for the Conference to launch the participatory process in June 2015, the carrying out of the first phase with sectoral conferences between September and November 2015, from January to March 2016 another first phase of the participatory process with conferences for public administrators on geographical areas homogeneous (coast, mountain, urban). The presentation of the Regional Strategic Document between April and May 2016 and a consequent online public consultation. In May 2016, the elaboration of the PACC would start with a second phase of the participatory process, in thematic sessions (by sector, eg agriculture, tourism, etc.). In September 2016, the elaboration of the Economic Plan of the PACC and a third phase of the participatory process with focus groups on the risks and extreme phenomena (heat waves, hydraulic risk, hydrogeological instability, coastal erosion) would have started. Finally, there would have been the final presentation of the PACC with the related Economic Plan which, after a month of public consultation, would have been adopted in May 2017 (DG 308/2015). As we will see, the time schedule was not respected.
Promoters and lenders
Abruzzo Region , Presidency of the Region, Councilor Mario Mazzocca , Department of Public Works, Territorial Government, Environmental Policies, Energy Policy Service, Air Quality.
CDCA - Center for Documentation on Environmental Conflicts , based in Rome, was born as a project of the A Sud Association, with the aim of investigating and disseminating the causes and consequences of conflicts generated by the exploitation of natural resources and common goods in the world. It also has a regional office in Rocca San Giovanni, in the province of Chieti (Abruzzo). He oversaw the participatory phases and the drafting of the PACC documents.
Climalia SrL , is an Italian consulting company that provides specialized support on climate change adaptation and systemic resilience, with consulting and design services for companies and public administrations. Together with CDCA, he oversaw the facilitation and contributed to the drafting of the texts.
Selection of participants
An attempt was made to involve regional actors first with a launch conference that was held in Pescara on December 17, 2015 from 9:30 to 18:00 at the Department of Architecture of the G. D'Annunzio University. The initiative was promoted with posters (available online), but no further information on the advertising campaign is provided (Link 1). In addition to the promoters, the meeting was attended by ANCI Abruzzo, AGENA (Agency for Energy and the Environment), Municipality of Vasto, Lake Penne Nature Reserve, University of L'Aquila (Civil Engineering Department) and University of Pescara (Dept. Architecture), CEA (The hedgehog and the Chestnut), CEA Coop. il Bosso (educational experiential tourism), Coop. Linea Verde (agency for naturalistic tourist itineraries), Posidonia SrL (Works at sea and scientific research), the director of the General Directorate for Agricultural Policies of the Molise Region also participated, with a view to starting a shared path aimed at optimizing and coordinating the efforts of both regions (Di Pierri et al., 2015).
Then, two years later, meetings called "sector conferences" were organized, then "participatory meetings", which were distributed throughout the territory:
- Climate vulnerability and Peligna Valley, 22/9/17 at 5.30 pm, Sulmona (Aquila);
- Climatic vulnerability and coastal area, 6/10/17 at 17:30, Vasto (Chieti);
- Metropolitan city and climate change, 20/10/17 2:00 pm-4:00pm, Pescara;
- Extreme events, 27/10/17 at 17:30, Teramo;
- Climate change and effects on the territory, 23/11/17 at 17:30, L'Aquila.
The methods of publication are not given and the number and nature of the participants are not given, probably the reports have not yet been drafted (ril., 21/2/18).
Methods and Tools
Focus group . The focus group method allows you to bring together a group of people and start a discussion with them around a desired theme, thanks to the leadership of a facilitator who is called to stimulate the discussion and verify that everyone can express their opinion. Through this methodology it is possible to collect different opinions, stimulate a comparison and explore different points of view or reach an agreement. To facilitate the discussion, post-its can be used, which allow those who are not comfortable speaking in public to express their opinions and those who have difficulty summarizing to reflect on what the fundamental concept is. they want to express. In the case in question (only the report relating to the focus group held after the launch conference is available, but on the same day) 3 working groups (composed of authorities and actors) used the Resilience Capacity Matrix and are states guided by key questions (eg definition of the concept of resilience) and discussions with experts, used the shock and stress table and mapped them on a physical map of the region (Di Pierri, 2015, p).
Resilience Capability Matrix (see figure in the attached images). It is a circular map divided into 4 macro-areas arranged in sectors converging towards the center of the map: 1) Leadership and strategy, 2) health and well-being, 3) Economy and society, 4) Infrastructure and environment. Each area is then divided into 3 themes: eg for the first area the following are indicated: 1.a Promotes effective leadership and management; 1.b Involves a wide range of stakeholders; 1.c Promotes long-term and integrated planning (Di Pierri, 2015). Participants are invited to enter the map and provide their evaluations.
The shock and stress table is a double entry matrix. On a Cartesian plane we have: Light and severe impact, infrequent and very frequent. It is used to identify and order the magnitude and priorities of risks. The map also offers the possibility of locating the most vulnerable areas identified.
Deliberation, decisions and interaction with the public
Launch conference. Between sea and mountains. 17 December 2015, 9:30 am / 6:00 pm , G. D'Annunzio University, Pescara. The participatory process starts with the strategy presentation conference. Until 1:30 pm, 6 speeches are held by representatives of institutions, universities, the order of architects under the title “Institutional Greetings”. This is followed by 10 specialist interventions by experts (eg D. Gaudioso, ISPRA, Risks and vulnerability to climate change; DEI Spano, Councilor for the Environment of the Sardinia Region, The role of the regions for resilience to climate change).
After the lunch break, the work tables are held which were supposed to be 4, while they will be 3 (Di Pierri, 2015). The introduction and facilitation of the 3 groups was handled by the three promoters (Region, CDCA and Climalia). From the reports of the 3 focus groups (Ib.), It emerges that the representatives of the participating actors started the activity by positioning their role in the Resilience Capacity Matrix (see methods and tools), covering all 4 areas, with a greater presence in the “Leadership and strategy” sector and in the “Infrastructure and environment” sector. The actors were then asked to give a definition of resilience (no memory is given of the answers) which followed a discussion led by the resilience expert P. Pellizzaro (Climalia). This led to the shared definition which means resilience, "the ability of integrated ecological and human systems, to absorb a disturbance and to reorganize themselves while the change takes place, while ensuring the maintenance of the vitality of the functions and structures of the system itself" (Ib).
Each group then placed shocks and stresses (a list was already available) in the double entry table (see methods and tools). The various phenomena were assigned scores (from 1 to 3) for the intensity of the impact and its frequency. From the list in order of priority / severity it emerges that the most critical are: I) intense rains and coastal erosion, II) acidification of the seas and floods, III) drought; this is followed by obsolete infrastructures, rising seas, water shortages, forest fires, melting snow, less biodiversity, heat waves. In addition, phenomena that are not listed have been introduced: hydrogeological instability, soil consumption, increase in snow, air quality, urban decay / lack of greenery, social integration, animal overpopulation (Ib). Finally, the phenomena were located on a geographic-physical map of the region. The entire territory is affected by heavy rains, excessive land consumption and obsolete infrastructure.
The coast is affected by erosion, marine acidification and rising seas, the rarefaction of biodiversity and cyclical shortage of water resources, as well as the inland areas of the Marsica. Flood phenomena mostly affect the northern coast and the provinces of Teramo and Pescara, fires in the Chietino and Vastese areas, while poor air quality affects the metropolitan area of Pescara. All this information will then be used to produce the Regional Climate Profile and therefore to prepare the subsequent participatory phases.
Participatory meetings (No. 5). September / November 2017.
From December 2015, the activities restarted two years later. This delay is probably due - ironically - to the extreme snow phenomena that took place in the winter of 2016 in central Italy and in particular in Abruzzo, which then generated serious inconveniences or even disasters; the best known is that caused by the avalanche that hit the hotel in Rigopiano, a hamlet of Farindola in the Pescara mountains, with 29 dead, 11 injured and 11 survivors, including 9 extracted from the rubble (18/1/2017).
On 22 September 2017, two years later, the process resumes with 5 participatory meetings, which are held in the main cities of the region (see above, selection of participants).
Each meeting was planned with a poster / flyer describing the theme, the program and the thematic focuses. In the first meeting in Sulmona, for example, the focus groups concern: less rainfall, overheating, thermal inversion, fire risk.
The last, which was held in L'Aquila on 11/23/17, at the headquarters of the Region, the groups focus on: extreme temperatures, biogeographical consequences, effects on natural heritage (Link 1). Of the meetings, to date (release 20/2/18) no reports or other information are available (Link 1).
Influence, results and effects
The process should be finished but the reports of the last participatory meetings are not yet available. It is not yet possible to understand what contribution the process has made to the PACC (ril. 20/2/18).
Analysis and lessons learned
It should be noted that what has been carried out and summarily planned in the Guidelines (Di Pierri, 2017a) corresponds only minimally to the time schedule present in DG 308/2015. The deadlines are completely disregarded, the tools adopted are different and the online consultation does not exist. Furthermore, the same DG declares that the process would not have involved direct costs for the administration so it remains to be understood whether the tasks entrusted to CDCA and Climalia SrL are free of charge.
Reporting is essential, transparency is lacking in the following aspects: inconsistencies between guidelines (Di Pierri, 2017a) and participatory meetings. The guidelines mentioned sector conferences (agriculture, coastal tourism, mountain tourism, etc.) while in the program (Link 1) the 5 participatory meetings have more general themes. Absence of explanations relating to the timing of the process and its long periods of stasis. Lack of information on how to recruit actors and publicize participatory events. Inexplicable and unexplained absence of environmental associations at the 2015 launch event. From all this we can deduce a lack of sharing of the process with the actors themselves. Furthermore, from the guidelines (Di Pierri, 2017a) it emerges that the process ends with 5 multi-actor meetings, without providing for further tools for expanding the representativeness of the final results.
Di Pierri, M. (2017a, edited by), Abruzzo Region, PACC, Guidelines, 9/2> https://www.regione.abruzzo.it/system/files/energia/pacc/lineeguida.pdf (ril ., 20/2/18).
Di Pierri, M. et al. (2015), Report of the working groups, PACC, Stakeholder involvement, risk perception and mapping of good practices for drafting the climate profile, 17/12> https://www.regione.abruzzo.it/sites/default/ files / energia / PAAC / REPORT.pdf (release, 20/2/18).
D'Alfonso, L. (2014), Electoral program of the candidate president of the Abruzzo Region> http://docplayer.it/9870451-Programma-elettorale-del-candidato-presidente-alla-regione-abruzzo-luciano-d-alfonso -2014-2019.html (release, 21/2/18).
Abruzzo Region, Regional Council, resolution no. 308 of 29/4/2015> http://leggi.regione.abruzzo.it/asp/redirectApprofondimenti.asp?pdfDoc=delibereRegionale/docs/delibere/DGR308-2015.pdf (ril., 21/2/18).
- Abruzzo Region, PACC Abruzzo: resilience and adaptation policies to climate change> https://www.regione.abruzzo.it/content/pacc-abruzzo-resilienza-e-politiche-di-adaptation-ai-cambiamenti-climatici (ril ., 20/2/18).