Local Actions
Piantamola - Reforestation in the Brenta river basinPiantamola is a bottom up project, developed by a group of citizens who set up teh “Zero Option Committee” to fight soil consumption caused by urban sprawl.They promote and implement reforestation activities on land that would otherwise be built on or used for intensive agriculture. Zero Option Committee was born in 2004 to reforest the Brenta river basin. In the last few years it has implemented 12 afforestation and reforestation projects on 5 hectares, planting more than 6000 trees.
The main goal is to change urban planning and to turn land with its precious soil into forested areas in order to prevent urban sprawl.
Other objectives include climate change mitigation, rural landscape diversification, restoration of habitats for wildlife, improving air and water quality in the Veneto Region, which is notoriously known for bad air quality and pollutants contamination.
With extreme events linked to climate change , soil consumption, urban sprawl and habitat fragmentation are likely to exacerbate the impacts and reduce the adaptation capacity. The creation of small woods to create corridors and refuge areas are crucial in densely populated and built up areas.
The success of the project lies also in the skills and knowledge of the engaged citizens, that share and offer competencies in the forest and environment sectors, IT and urban planning.
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