Illegal construction, illicit management of quarries, state concessions: the grip of illegal cement is growing along the Italian coasts. In 2023, there were 10,257 (+11.1% compared to 2022) crimes ascertained by the police and port authorities in the coastal regions, with 11,647 people reported (+21.2%), 1,614 criminal seizures (+17 .3%) and 14 precautionary custody orders. Tuscany is fifth in the regional ranking with 794 crimes (7.7% of the national total), 883 people reported, 38 seizures carried out, 1,671 administrative offenses and 3,897 administrative sanctions.
This was reported by Legambiente which, on the occasion of the launch of the “Goletta Verde” campaign, the historic Legambiente campaign for monitoring the quality of Italian marine waters, presents a preview of the data from the 2024 “Mare Monstrum” dossier dedicated to the illegal cement cycle , collected by law enforcement agencies and port authorities. The five regions most affected by the phenomenon were Lazio, Campania, Puglia, Calabria and Sicily.
To turn the spotlight on the issue of building abuses that disfigure coasts and shores, together with those of poor purification, protection of biodiversity and achievement of the objective of 30% of land and sea protected by 2030, renewables, off-shore wind energy, crisis climate, drought and good practices related to sustainable tourism, will be the historic “Goletta Verde” 2024 campaign, now in its 38th edition and created with the partnership of ANEV, CONOU, Novamont and Renexia with the media partnership of La Nuova Ecologia.
The journey of the Goletta Verde sailing ship will start from La Spezia and will touch all the coastal regions, with the motto “We will never stop”. It will arrive in Tuscany on Monday 1st and Tuesday 2nd July in the port of Piombino: among the key events on 1st July in Tuscany, on the Calambrone beach (PI), with the “Tartadogs” in action in search of sea turtle nests and with two seminars open to the public: “Marine biodiversity in Tuscany: critical issues and protection actions” is the theme of the first seminar which will take place on Monday 1 July at 6pm on board the Goletta Verde sailing ship moored at the Andana degli Anelli, in the port of Livorno. The second appointment will take place on Tuesday 2 July at 10 am at the Fortezza Vecchia, Sala Ferretti (Piazzale dei Marmi, Livorno) and will be dedicated to the Darsena Europa and the ecological conversion of maritime transport.
“The Italian coasts – comments Giorgio Zampetti, general director of Legambiente – are a heritage of inestimable value, rich in history, beauty and biodiversity, but increasingly usurped by the wild brick with constructions that often remain in the state of skeletons, which privatize beaches or which arise in the middle of river beds or in areas at hydrogeological risk. The preview data of “Mare Monstrum” shows us the urgency of intervening with legislative measures, as we asked the Government and all the political forces with our amendments to the Salvacasa decree, for us a “disguised amnesty”, as we will also reiterate at on board our Green Schooner. We will also turn the spotlight on Italy’s slowness on the subject of renewables and offshore wind, reiterating our no to fossil fuels and anachronistic choices such as the Bridge project over the Strait of Messina. At the same time, Goletta Verde and Goletta dei laghi enhance and protect the immense biodiversity heritage of our aquatic ecosystems, an effective antidote to climate change. Protagonists will also be the lakes, increasingly threatened by poor purification and drought, which this year especially afflicts the south of the country, which we will monitor with the aim of raising citizens’ awareness and promoting solutions to combat the climate crisis”.
Projects on board. Also this year the Goletta Verde hosts the environmental education workshops “Discovering the sea”, free and aimed at teenagers and children. With the Life Delfi and Life Elife projects we will listen to dialogues between dolphins and understand why we shouldn’t be afraid of sharks. With Life Turtlenest we will discover how to protect sea turtle nests and how to help their hatchlings reach the sea safely. With Life SeaNet, light will be shed on the extraordinary richness of the marine sites of the Natura 2000 Network. And marine ecosystems will be the protagonists of the “Deep Blue” photographic competition aimed at all operators and lovers of the sea who will have until 30 September 2024 to send their shots at [email protected]. With Life Muscles you will discover alternative solutions to the polypropylene (PP) nets used in mussel farming plants, one of the wastes most found in the seabed and on the beaches of the Mediterranean.
“Postcards from the sea”: art on board the Goletta Verde. This year it is possible to concretely support the journey of the Goletta Verde with a donation via the page: https://sostieni.legambiente.it/cartolinadalmare. For a minimum contribution you will be able to receive one of the “Postcards from the sea”: small works created by the artists of the Timarete Arte group, with the aim of spreading the message in defense of the sea as much as possible.
Legambiente’s SOS Goletta service returns with the two campaigns to report anomalous discharges, suspicious patches or pollution along the coasts, beaches and lakes of its territories on the dedicated page.
Source: Legambiente – Press office
