Sustainability projects help fight depopulation in the mountains

"The signs are there, they are not homogeneous and the differences from north to south persist, but the reversal of the trend regarding the issue of depopulation in the mountains is evident. The indicators we have collected say that the situation is not irreversible, and this is also thanks to the establishment of the Green Communities". Clear words from Marco Bussone , president of the National Union of Municipalities, Communities and Mountain Entities (Uncem) who after ten years returns with a new edition of a Report on the Mountains . Over 700 pages full of tables and data that trace a real-time snapshot of what is happening in the 3,417 Italian mountain municipalities, where 3 million people live between the Alps and the Apennines. 1,499 are in the Alps, 1,601 in the Apennines, 102 in Sicily and 215 in Sardinia.

The vitality of mountain territories

“Climate crisis and biodiversity loss are interdependent and the worsening of the conditions of one worsens the other. Mountain ecosystems are among the most fragile and most exposed to climate change”, explains Antonio Nicoletti of Legambiente in the report that he is keen to underline “paradoxically, however, climate change could be the excuse and the crowbar to encourage the start of necessary territorial policies that have been postponed until now. To implement this strategy, new relationships and agreements between mountain territories and cities are needed, and a rebalancing of powers between metropolises and rural areas is not enough. A mutual assistance pact is needed between those who own natural resources (the mountains) and those who use their services (the city)”.

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In fact, the PNRR investment in Green Communities has generated a surprising response from mountain communities: 200 territories (many of which are composed of several municipalities for homogeneous areas) have presented 540 projects regarding the fight against the climate crisis and the green transition. Investment: 140 million euros.

Objective: Overcoming fragmentation

Without a doubt, an important innovation, which anticipated the presentation of the candidacies for the Green Communities, was the birth of the “Unioni di territori” (Unions of territories). An institution created to overcome the fragmentation of small and very small mountain villages - each of which until now has been busy carving out its own administrative space - and which has given rise to homogeneous communities region by region. With this approach, the 2024 Italian Mountains Report offers an unprecedented vision of the Italian mountains grouped into 387 units, created thanks to the integration of municipal administrations. Out of 1,503 municipalities present in the mountain territory, 37 groupings were then organized in the Alps; 101 in the Apennines and 155 in the mountains. All convinced that the energy transition and the digital transition are the same face of the green transition.

Green projects

Thus, looking at the list of Green Communities, for example, we discover that in Abruzzo the CIVETTA Consortium was born, involving 30 municipalities geographically included in the protected area of ​​the Majella Park (together they have 36 thousand inhabitants) that in addition to other projects will work together to build the "Ultra Wide Band" network and the Ecomuseum. Or the Green Community Parco del Pollino that involves ten municipalities. And again. The Union of Municipalities of Frignano FABER , which will work together for the creation of energy communities and the protection of forests. In Lazio there is the Community of the Pontine Islands created for the integrated management of water sources, but also to preserve the archipelago from wave motion and protect heroic agriculture in the abandoned plots on the mountain.

"Precise political choices"

The legal form of the Union of Municipalities also allows for the establishment of memoranda of understanding on issues always concerning the Green transition. This is happening in Lunigiana for example where the Union of Municipalities of the Mountain Lunigiana has established agreements with universities and the National Park of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines to create renewable sources and program development plans for sustainable agriculture, fish farming, forestry and tourism. However, all this is not enough to convince people to stay. Marco Bussone is keen to point out: “The response that the populations who live in the mountains, in the Alps and in the Apennines are giving to combat the climate crisis shows that depopulation can only be fought by adopting precise political choices, investments are there. This does not mean that the problem has been eliminated. The example is my town, Vallo Torinese, which has just 750 residents. In recent years there have been 14 funerals, while only six children have been born. Curbing depopulation means offering job opportunities in a context that can guarantee access to fundamental rights starting from health, education and mobility. We need to look for innovative solutions, first of all those connected to the use of the internet and new technologies. To help those who decide to stay in these areas or return. New solutions linked to sustainability projects are a big step forward: not only are they necessary but they can help people stay”.