Greenpeace: 8 proposals against drought

38% of Italian rice paddies and irrigated crops are affected by severe drought, i.e. they suffer from a lack of rain that has lasted for two years. The whole Po district, where a large part of the Italian irrigated surface is located, has also already been in a state of medium water severity for several months, putting rice, corn and other crops at risk. That’s what he underlines Greenpeace Italy on the occasion of World Water Day processing advance data from the CNR-IBE Drought Observatory.

The environmental organization also presents eight proposals to combat drought addressed to the Meloni government, which this afternoon will bring together the control room on drought at Palazzo Chigi.

Already in March the situation appears dramatic: even surface water, a fundamental resource for irrigation, is in fact in extreme pain. All the great lakes of the Po Basin are close to the historic lows recorded in the last eighty years and the main artificial reservoirs of the Po basin show a filling volume equal to a fifth of the capacity. In addition to the scarce rains, especially in the North, the heat contributed to this situation, with temperatures above the average for 9 months out of 12 in 2022, and the scarcity of snow in the mountains, where there is a snow deficit of 63% compared to the average of the last ten years.

“If there is no reversal of the trend, all summer horticultural crops, such as lettuce or tomatoes, will also be strongly affected”, explains Ramona Magno, scientific coordinator of the CNR-IBE Drought Observatory. “Probably they will have to rethink some types of crops or use varieties that are more resistant to periods of drought. Much more stringent irrigation schedules could become the norm. There could also be rationing of water for drinking water in various municipalities”. A situation that is already current, given that in Piedmont this winter some municipalities were supplied with water via tankers.

What is changing is the frequency and intensity of these extreme phenomena, an ascending trend whose speed is exacerbated and closely linked to climate change. To deal with drought it is therefore necessary to immediately adopt ambitious policies for free ourselves from dependence on oil, gas and coal and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But in the same way it is necessary to profoundly modify our agricultural system – which absorbs about 50% of the fresh water used in Italy every year – also modifying the surface dedicated to crops that require more water. Maize, for example, the second largest Italian crop in terms of volumes of water used, is almost entirely absorbed by the feed chain, and more than 45% of the water footprint of agricultural products is attributable to meat, milk and derivatives.

“To reduce the water consumption in agriculture technological solutions are not enough, but it is necessary to act with a view to greater ‘food efficiency’, also through the reduction of production and related consumption that involve a greater use of water, such as zootechnical water and the related feed chain”, he comments Simon SaviniGreenpeace Italy agriculture campaign.

The declarations, institutional and otherwise, on the theme of drought, however, almost all revolve around the same hypothetical solution: build new reservoirs and reservoirsdespite the possible lower future rainfall and the increase in evapotranspiration due to global warming, which should lead to caution regarding this type of infrastructure, also with respect to their environmental impacts.

Forced canalization and overbuilding have in fact reduced the natural areas capable of “absorbing” excess water during extreme climatic events, impoverishing the streams and groundwaterwhich always remain the best “reservoirs” for storing water resources, more efficient than any infrastructure.

Greenpeace’s 8 proposals to fight drought:

• Speeding up Italy’s decarbonisation processreducing and then eliminating climate-changing emissions, through an update of the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate (PNIEC) with objectives in line with the Paris Agreement on climate and the position of the European Union.

• Stop investing in fossil fuels and related infrastructureabandoning the exploitation of oil, gas and coal as soon as possible and focusing on renewable energy and energy efficiency.

• Reduce upstream water consumption in agricultureprioritizing the use of land and water for the production of food for direct human consumption rather than the feed chain or the production of biofuels.

• Reduce feed demand upstreamgradually reducing the number of animals raised and taking measures to encourage the adoption of mainly plant-based diets.

• Take steps to encourage the use of agroecological techniques that improve soil healthincluding the ability to retain moisture.

• Drastically reduce soil consumption and overbuildingincreasing the surfaces of woods and natural areas.

• Plan the possible construction of new reservoirs and ponds based on the historical filling data of the existing reservoirs and on future weather-climate scenarios, avoiding harmful as well as ineffective works.

• Adopt a major restructuring plan for the water network and hydrogeological safetyincreasing the dedicated resources in the PNRR, also with the contribution of the managing bodies of the integrated water service.