ANBI: interview with President Vincenzi in view of the National Assembly “We need water to cultivate Peace”

The ANBI 2025 National Assembly is preparing to shine a spotlight on one of the most urgent and strategic issues for the future of the country: the management of water resources in an era marked by the climate crisis. With the title “We need water to cultivate Peace” , the event, scheduled in Rome on 8 and 9 July at the Carpegna Palace Hotel Congress Center, confirms itself as an important space for discussion between institutions, the agricultural world, academia, businesses and civil society.

Five panels are scheduled, dedicated to territorial cohesion, wastewater reuse, European strategies for water resilience, infrastructure and irrigated agriculture . A few days before the opening of the works, we interviewed Francesco Vincenzi, President of ANBI , to delve into the central themes of the Assembly, the role of the Land Reclamation Consortia and the priorities for addressing an increasingly widespread and structural water crisis.

In this interview, Vincenzi offers a concrete and determined vision of the water challenges that Italy is facing, underlining the urgency of a structural investment plan , the need for a more efficient and shared management of resources and the strategic value of water not only for agriculture and energy, but also as a guarantee of food security, social cohesion and democracy.

Affaritaliani 's interview with Francesco Vincenzi, President of ANBI

President Vincenzi, the ANBI 2025 Assembly opens at a crucial time for the management of water resources. What is the real state of water management in Italy today and what are the strategic priorities that ANBI intends to bring to the attention of the institutions?

“ First of all, it is important to underline that Italy, today as in recent years, is facing the most serious climate crisis, proportionally more intense than other countries in the world. This crisis is manifested above all in the management of water resources and in global warming. The big problem of these days is represented by the high temperatures of the Mediterranean Sea, which unfortunately make us predict, or rather, presage, that, at the end of this phase of high pressure, we could find ourselves having to manage extreme weather events, with intense and persistent rains ”.

“ With regard to water resources, in our country we have been observing a very heterogeneous situation for years: there are territories that suffer seriously and continuously, like Sicily, Puglia, part of Calabria and also Sardinia, hit hard for the second or third consecutive year. We are experiencing great criticalities, despite past investments that had guaranteed good water availability in Northern Italy. However, this condition is no longer so solid, as already happened in 2022. It is true that some favorable situations have temporarily guaranteed a certain availability, but this is not enough ”.

“ This reality must make us understand that Italy urgently needs a structural investment plan. On the one hand, it is necessary to create new multifunctional basins; on the other, it is necessary to intensify maintenance, both ordinary and extraordinary, of existing infrastructures and of the territory as a whole ”.

With 142 land reclamation and irrigation consortia involved, the Assembly presents itself as a moment of extended discussion. What are the main critical issues and opportunities that will emerge from the five thematic panels, in particular on the reuse of purified water and on European policies?

“ We have chosen five themes that, in our opinion, deserve special attention. On the one hand, we address them to our associates, with whom we collaborate and share this path; on the other, to the comparison with the institutions and stakeholders of the sector ".

" The first theme concerns exactly what we have been talking about: how to address, with concrete investments, the climate crisis that is affecting our country. We will focus in particular on cohesion policy funds, which have been little used in recent years, especially in strategic areas such as soil protection and water resource management. On these we ask that we have the courage and determination to include them among the national priorities ."

“ Secondly, we want to accelerate collaborations with the Regions. This will be an important focus, because we believe that the climate challenge cannot be won alone, but by joining forces. The world of Land Reclamation Consortia has already demonstrated, in emergencies, that it is able to provide concrete responses both in the management of water resources and in ordinary maintenance of the territory. We want to discuss with the Regions to start agreements also on the management of secondary water networks that today do not fall within the competence of the consortia, but are the responsibility of the Regions. The goal is to improve effectiveness and efficiency in the regulation and availability of water ”.

“ A third theme concerns multifunctional basins, which can offer fundamental answers not only for human use - just think that in many municipalities today there is a lack of drinking water - but also for agriculture, increasing the availability of water for production, and for the production of electrical energy, thus contributing to the competitiveness of the country in terms of energy costs ”.

“ The fourth theme is the reuse of wastewater. We want to address it with the subjects of the integrated water service, building together a clear and transparent path. Reuse is a fundamental resource, which we cannot give up, but it must always take place while guaranteeing food safety, healthiness and the quality of food that Italy has been able to achieve over time, and that we cannot afford to lose .

" Finally, on 9 July we will discuss the role of water in Europe with the ministers. Right now, the EU is writing the Strategy for Water Resilience, but what we read does not seem transparent or courageous. There is little vision. More determination is needed on the use of water in a Europe divided in two: the South has very different needs from the North and must not be penalised, but rather valued for the way in which it uses the resource ".

“ We also want to open a dialogue with citizens and environmental associations: the water used in agriculture is not only used to produce food, which is already essential in itself, but is also fundamental for maintaining biodiversity, which is unique in its kind. And Europe, which with the Water Framework Directive has often condemned the agricultural use of water in Southern countries, must take this into account ."

" Water is also a question of democracy. Peace passes through water. Climate change is already causing migration: there are those who flee because of too much water and those who flee because there is none. Without water there is no food, and food is the first instrument of democracy that every country must guarantee ."