POTENZA – The situation in the dams and reservoirs of Basilicata is becoming increasingly critical. Compared to last year, around 185 million cubic meters of water are missing in our region (110 million in Montecotugno alone). A shortage that is putting the production, especially fruit and vegetables, of the Metaponto area at risk. This was reported by Cia-Agricoltori Basilicata who, on the occasion of Desertification and Drought Day, reworked the Ispra data, highlighting the dramatic conditions in which Basilicata finds itself. A day established precisely with the aim of raising awareness and finding solutions for those that represent the most urgent challenges of our time: drought, desertification, land degradation.
Suffice it to say that over 40% of all the earth’s surface in the world is already considered degraded. And that, every second, an equivalent of four football fields of healthy soil undergoes degradation, for a total of 100 million hectares every year. And also with regard to land consumption, Basilicata is one of the regions that causes the most concern: last year it reached the highest average in Italy immediately after Molise with 588m2/inhabitant for a total of 31,825 hectares of which 22,560 in the province of Potenza and 9,266 in that of Matera. In 15 years, a net 2,356 ha have been lost. As if 1500 football stadiums had disappeared.
In short, a dramatic picture that is frightening due to its possible evolutions. To the point that for the CIA it is necessary to immediately reverse the worrying trend. In this regard, the approval of the Directive on soil monitoring and resilience is urgent. While on the water issue, the CIA asks “Europe for a plan that aims to rethink the storage, reduction, losses and reuse of water. However, the Region too – he concludes – must do its part through a framework law, protect agricultural resources and promote sustainable management of the territory”.
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