ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
Another common Governments objective concerns environmental protection, which has the added benefit of promoting economic development.
The complexity of the challenge is reflected in the variety and heterogeneity of the different themes dedicated to sustainable development. The ones of particular importance to sub-national governments are:
- Energy
- Water
- Waste management
- Air quality on a local level in relation to climatic change themes
- Mobility management
- Agriculture and foodstuffs
The detailed local knowledge and regulatory powers (through the shaping of sanctions and/or incentives) of regional Governments gives them a critical role in the reconciliation of local and global needs. The identification of policies and common actions through cooperation among the world’s main regional and sub-national institutions may constitute a primary element of a systemic approach to environmental problems.
Even more than the simple ‘added value’ of cooperative actions, the alliance between political actors, business and research represents an indispensable working model.
The goal of this project is to identify cooperative actions that allow major regional and state institutions to pursue a systematic approach to environmental issues.
The first pilot project is focused on Water use
The proposal is to focus on water management and governance, studying and developing different perspectives as: financing models and pricing policies, planning of uses and water balances, water quality and balances, monitoring and recovery.
In the framework of the thematic workshop “Sustainable using and shared management of water” which has taken place in Milan on 29th September during the World Regions Forum, representatives and experts from participating partner regions have met to explore future cooperation opportunities in the area of governance models for water saving, protection and enhancement of territories
The participants have finally adopted the following joint declaration.
WRF 2011 Adopted Final Statement towards a Water Pact
Presentations, Workshop water resources management - 29 September 2011
Climate Change and water availability
Giampiero Maracchi,
Italian leading expert in Climatology, Chairman at World Meteorological Organization’s Commission for Agricultural Meteorology. President of Foundation for Climate and Sustainability.
Globalisation, climate change and water
Use planning and water balances
Giorgio Cesari,
National Coordinator of Autority for Italian River Basin District.
Use planning and water balances
Economic instruments for sustainable water use
Lanfranco Senn,
Full Professor of Regional Economics, Bocconi University and Director of CERTeT-Bocconi, Centre for Research on Regional Economics, Transport and Tourism. President of Metropolitana Milanese s.p.a.
Economic instruments for sustainable water use
Challenges for integrated urban water management
Alessandro Paoletti,
Professor, Department of Environmental, Hydraulic, Infrastructures and Surveying Engineering,
Politecnico di Milano.