26-29.06.2024 - "The Water Resource: From the Dolomites to the Sea - Quality, Development, Biodiversity"

Water is a precious, irreplaceable resource, fundamental for life on our planet. It is essential for all living beings—animals, humans, and plants—and necessary to maintain our health. Unfortunately, its availability is not infinite; it is a limited resource, which poses a series of critical challenges on both local and global scales. This led to the inclusion of "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all" among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in 2015 by 150 international leaders gathered at the United Nations to promote global development, human well-being, and environmental protection. In addition to issues of access and reduced availability, water contamination is increasing due to industrial water residues and inadequate waste disposal. Furthermore, climate change is increasingly causing extreme weather events such as droughts and floods. Although the Veneto region is still rich in this primary resource, it is witnessing a drastic decrease in reserves represented by glaciers. Being aware of this and preserving it is a duty towards all humanity.

It is essential, however, even where there are no access or availability issues, to ensure due respect: the shrinking of glaciers, the drying up of springs, the lowering of water tables, the pollution of rural wells, and the sea are now intolerable events for an environment already stressed by countless daily assaults. The right path to follow appears to be that outlined at the European level, where efforts are focused on ensuring: protection and improvement of the state of aquatic ecosystems, as well as terrestrial and wetland areas dependent on them; sustainable water use based on long-term protection of available water resources; greater protection of the aquatic environment, allowing for improvement through the adoption of specific measures for the gradual reduction of discharges, emissions, and losses of priority substances, as well as the cessation or gradual elimination of discharges, emissions, and losses of hazardous substances; halting and gradually reducing groundwater pollution; and making a proactive contribution to mitigating the effects of floods and droughts.

Regarding the effects of climate change on water resources, it is worth noting that with the Glasgow Pact, signed during COP26 in Scotland, the global community once again highlighted the severity of the climate problem we are facing, establishing a milestone towards the process of adapting to and reducing climate-altering emissions. The agreement also emphasizes the importance of acting both globally and locally for climate adaptation, with particular attention to the protection and restoration of ecosystems and the involvement of local communities, going beyond the administrative boundaries of local authorities. These are all aspects that the City of Venice urgently recognizes and seeks to address through its Climate Plan, tailored to the specificities of our territory. We strongly rely on collaboration among the various stakeholders, both public and private, to meet the challenge of safeguarding water and climate resources for Venice and its territory "from source to sea," as an inseparable whole. We also count on the active contribution that the entire local community can provide to ensure sustainable water management and climate adaptation, starting with individual behaviors in every household, business, and public space.