It is the alarm raised by Ramona Magnoresearcher of Cnr And Head of the Drought Observatory of the Cnr-Ibewho will be the guest of the fifth annual conference Aissa#under40the association whose aim is to promote the exchange of knowledge with an interdisciplinary approach and strengthen relations with national and international institutions in the agricultural, forestry, agro-industrial and environmental areas.
The Aissa#under40 conference is scheduled for Florenceon 26 and 27 June, in the spaces of Novoli campus of theUniversity of Florence and is part of the calendar of celebrations for the 110 years of the School of Agriculture and for the centenary of the Florentine University.
The fifth edition will focus on Agricultural Sciences in the Anthropocene: from productivity to the protection of material and cultural heritage and will see, in addition to Magno, the participation of Vittoria Brambillathe first Italian researcher to start experimenting in the field of Tea (Assisted Evolution Techniques) in agriculture in our country and Francesca de Filippis, microbiologist at the University of Naples who works on the importance of the microbiome-man-environment axis.
According to Magno “there are crops at risk in Tuscany and they are irrigated ones, like corn, all those crops that require a lot of water. In the Grosseto area there could also be a problem with rice”. Among the topics addressed by the researcher is also the connection between water resources and tourism: “The factor of tourism is it never taken into consideration? explains -. However, the sudden increase in population, in a limited period, leads to an aggravation of water withdrawals. This increases the pressure on the territory and the water resource.”
Water resource: “It is not infinite, we need to change our mentality. Extreme events are on the increase in Tuscany.” Precisely on water “we need to start changing our mentality, thinking about acting sooner even if this may take longer. There is not just one solution to a problem. On water we will be moving towards a future in which there will be less and less of it: not only because the rains are falling differently, but also because we use it badly wastelosses: the water resource, fundamental for life, is not infinite”.
Globally, Magno notes, “in 2022 the Water Forum established that in 2030 there will be a 40% gap between what will be the available water and what will be the water demands: we, as Italy, are fully involved. And the same applies to Tuscany: in this region the phenomena with very strong winds, storms, are intensifying”. Among the actions that Ramona Magno will illustrate during the conference, there is also space for cities. “For example, we should also act on the urban planning part following the example of Northern countries where they try to accumulate water when there is a lot of it, so as to have it available even in periods of drought”. “In Italy – concluded Magno – we are a little behind. We must then start thinking about water reuseintensify the reuse of purified waste water for agriculture and industry, and try to reduce losses in water networks. And if these actions are desirable for adapting to climate change we must also act on mitigation, and encourage the use of public transport which is one of the options that each of us can implement”.
