Renaturalizing Riverbanks and Making Space for the River: Coupling Ecological Concerns and Risk Prevention Measures
Since the approval of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) in the year 2000, rivers water management within the European Union needed to comply with the increasingly stringent requirements of ecological quality preservation and improvement. In this
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Renaturalizing Riverbanks and Making Space for the River: Coupling Ecological Concerns and Risk Prevention Measures Francesco Puma
Abstract Since the approval of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) in the year 2000, rivers water management within the European Union needed to comply with the increasingly stringent requirements of ecological quality preservation and improvement. In this contribution interventions to rebalance the hydro-morphological dynamic asset of the river were discussed. Such interventions have been identified in the Fluvial Zonation and the Plan for the Hydrogeologic Configuration approved respectively in 1998 and 2001 as well as in the Program for the Management of Sediments carried out in the period 2006–2008. The latter program is based on careful studies and assessments of the unbalance of the sediment production, transport, and deposit mechanisms that have been induced by man-made activities with the aim to restore as much as possible the natural configuration of the riverbed and the riverbanks. The implementation of the plans and the program encounters requires a cultural change among professionals who must be convinced that structural defenses are not the only means to achieve a safer river and that renaturing where possible is preferable both from a hydraulic and an ecological point of view.
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Introduction: The Innovation Brought by the Water Framework Directive
Since the approval of the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) in the year 2000, river water management within the European Union has been required to comply with the increasingly stringent requirements of ecological quality preservation and improvement. The Directive constitutes a common framework for the
F. Puma (&) General Secretary of the Po Riverbasin Authority, Parma, Italy e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 A. Colucci et al. (eds.), Peri-Urban Areas and Food-Energy-Water Nexus, Springer Tracts in Civil Engineering, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41022-7_10
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protection of superficial and underground water bodies, including transitional and coastal waters with the objective to: • Stop further water quality deterioration, protect and improve the state of both riverine and terrestrial, including riparian and humid zones, ecosystems directly depending on the river waters for their own sustenance; • Promote sustainable water use so as to preserve resources for the future; • Reinforce protection of the water habitats acting on the control and progressive decrease of incoming wastes, halting emissions and loss of vital substances; • Guarantee a progressive reduction of underground water pollution; • Contribute to mitigate the effects of inundations and droughts. Plans for catchments and surface bodies need to indicate protection measures aimed at achieving the good ecological state required by the Directive. As forecasted by the Directive, the ecological state of water bodies is defined evaluating: • Biological elements: composition and abundance of aquatic flo
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