Tuscany, Italy
The Tuscany region in north-eastern Italy is a diverse landscape of hills, mountains, and coastal plains. The seaside area is impacted by climate hazards, such as coastal erosion, sea level rise, and storms leading to coastal flooding and infrastructure damage.
In 1996, the Municipality of Pisa initiated an innovative coastal restoration project, avoiding the use of hard engineering structures in favour of creating a more natural coastal landscape. The Med-IREN project is planning to extend the coastal restoration of Marina di Pisa using local resources.
Nature-based Solutions
Dynamic Artificial Gravel Beach Barriers – DAGBB
Natural gravel and pebble beaches respond to sea storms by modifying their morphology. This typically involves the retreat of the shoreline and an increase in the height of the emerged beach crest. These natural adjustments effectively absorb the energy from incoming waves, forming a protective barrier that helps prevent overwash and flooding in the areas behind the coast.
According to Professor Cappietti, “…leveraging this natural process within artificial beach nourishments aims at developing a resilient and sustainable coastal protection system as a Nature Based Solution that can be named as Dynamic Artificial Gravel Beach Barriers (DAGBB) …”
In Tuscany’s demo case, recycled marble scraps from Carrara will be used to develop DAGBB. This type of gravel, typically considered waste from quarry production, will be repurposed to help create a more natural coastal landscape. Specifically, DAGBB and submerged breakwaters will replace traditional seawalls and seaward-located emergent detached rubble-mound breakwaters. This initiative aims to benefit both local citizens and visitors by preserving the natural beauty of the coastline and seascape, while also improving seawater quality.
Med-IREN Benefits
Safe electricity supply
Protection of the transport systems (road highways, railways)
Resilient telecommunications networks
Climate Resilience Policies
Regional Coastal Governance
The Tuscan coastal area encompasses a significant portion of the regional territory and holds substantial economic importance; many of the issues related to the sea and coast fall within an interregional and supranational dimension. It is within these two premises that the theme of governance must be framed:
one perspective directed inward, toward the regional context, and the other outward, toward other Mediterranean regions and the actions undertaken by the European Community.
The current structure of coastal governance in Tuscany involves both Provinces and Municipalities directly: the former are responsible for all matters related to coastal protection, including the implementation of coastal defence interventions; the latter have been delegated the management of the state-owned maritime domain, broadly understood to include aspects of economic and social development as well as the protection of citizens in terms of public health and hygiene.
The division of certain responsibilities between the State and the Regions, particularly concerning the application of the Navigation Code and broader maritime matters, is somewhat less clear. This complexity can only be overcome through effective collaboration with the Harbor Master's Offices, which play a crucial role in maritime safety, and with Port Authorities.
In terms of governance, some changes may be introduced by the proposed transfer of ownership of the maritime public domain to the Regions, and by the national reform law on the criteria for granting state-owned areas for tourism and recreational purposes, which is currently under review. In fulfilling its role, the Region is supported by the technical expertise of ARPAT (the Regional Environmental Protection Agency), which plays an essential role in implementing water quality regulations. Furthermore, the involvement of the scientific community, including universities and research institutions in the region, is of fundamental importance to initiate a series of studies and research activities on the sea and the coast, as well as to collect data necessary for monitoring the objectives and actions undertaken.
Territorial Security
The analysis of the Tuscan context clearly highlights how necessary it is to pursue a truly “sustainable” harmonious development, through a strong integrated prevention action. Prevention is to be achieved through the reduction of the risk of existing buildings but also through careful planning policies regarding new settlements. This refers to the implementation of territorial development strategies that respect watercourses as occurred with the adoption of Regional Law 21/2012 which further clarified that it is not possible to build where the river can reach. It is therefore necessary that the PAER policies are linked and coordinated with those of territorial planning and with the statutory assets of the PIT aimed at guaranteeing geomorphological balance.
Securing the Tuscan territory also involves the implementation of various Program Agreements that the Region has signed in recent years with the Ministry of the Environment and Local Authorities (see Annex Program Agreements in force). This implementation method, if on the one hand has the advantage of involving multiple institutional levels, on the other hand suffers from some critical issues related to the complexity of the procedures, delays in the implementation of the interventions by some implementing bodies and the spending limits imposed by the vertical stability pact (which prevents the liquidation of resources even when present in the budgets of local bodies).
The Tuscany Region has however intended to give impetus to the implementation of the interventions through the Regional Law n. 35/2011 which provides for advanced forms of monitoring and control of the implementation status of the individual interventions. A computerized system is currently implemented in which the set of works is monitored on a quarterly basis and any delays with respect to the time schedule envisaged by the projects of the works themselves are highlighted. Regional Law n. 35/2011 also provides for the possibility for the Region to proceed with the appointment of a commissioner in the event of inertia by the implementing body. In terms of reducing vulnerability, the actions implemented by the Region will be aimed at reducing the exposed population with particular reference to cities through Smart solutions.