Territorial and environmental problems, ever more delicate and dramatic in our country, require, now more than ever, the constant presence of the geologist in all the social, cultural, economic and territorial contexts. It is necessary to act with greater authority, and involve the society, making the public aware of the real status of the land: how the territory can be both a source of risk or a resource. Knowledge is the key tool: the diffusion of scientific heritage, using topics well known and appreciated, more accessible to the public, may represent one of the new goals for the geologist. Sharing knowledge allows to reach the common aim of territorial safety and a shared well-being.
The natural and cultural Landscape is everywhere, often it needs to be recognized as a heritage and to be protected, in order to become a resource: the quality of landscape impinges on individual and social well-being; moreover, as finally ratified in the European Landscape Convention (2000) “Landscape is an essential element of quality of life and cooperates in the development of local cultures”. The key role of the landscape is in its perceptive and symbolic power: it’s what mankind interacts with, from the first contact with the environment, source of resources, risk, emotions.
The social-economical scenario of an area is strictly linked to the geological one. A proper technical and cultural approach to the problem of the natural and cultural management, requires a multidisciplinary methodology that aims at a balance between use and respect, in order to reach a development sustainable for both the environmental and social systems.
By integrating different information about the geo-morphological arrangement and the land use of a region, it is possible to reach a complete knowledge of the territory: the use and application of geological maps and other cartographic products GIS based, as well as their integration with similar analytical experiences, in order to compare the results of the multi-thematic studies and to suggest new strategies, aiming to a common solution for the social-environmental problems.
Overlaying the thematic maps, the gathered data and the elaborated indicators, it is possible to reach a set of tools useful for a balanced territorial management.
In Italy, a very important GIS-based tool to represent the territory is the “Carta della Natura” (“Map of Nature”, presently coordinated by the ISPRA) that aims at assessing the state of the environment in the entire Italian territory, analyzing Landscape. The methodology follows a holistic approach, taking into consideration all the components of a landscape and then integrating the information. In the “Carta della Natura” project, the entire Italian territory is studied at different scales of analysis, performing the recognition and the evaluation of the territorial reference units. All of the units, at the different scales, are identified through an integrated study and synthesis of the composition and pattern of the elements that constitute their physiognomy.
Each unit, at the different scales, is evaluated in terms of Environmental Value and Territorial Vulnerability. The total value of the environmental units at the different analysis scales, is the result of the superposition of environmental, economic, social and cultural values.
The results of the territorial evaluation can be finally expressed by simple indexes and represented by classes of values: in this way, they form complete tools for the knowledge and management of the territory, very useful to find and recognize the sites to be submitted under special protection, as geological and environmental heritage sites.
The areas with a high rank of environmental value and fragility, enriched by the presence of cultural elements, suggest a need of a special protection and exploitation. The strategies for the protection will be headed for the most appropriate actions, working on the sensitivity and the anthropic pressure factors. The application of these so-called environmental indicators in the recognition of the geological and geo-environmental heritage becomes very useful in the proceedings of planning and development of a region.
The basis of any balanced management of land and a true participatory democracy, must be based on knowledge and one of the most important tools is the dissemination of scientific heritage in order to achieve shared and consolidated awareness.
Referring to the latest dramatic events in Italy, emerged the need to create a new kind of communication that can activate a wider and conscious target, providing society with correct and clear information on the geo-environmental scenarios of our country.
The ethic vocation of the geologists appears clear and strictly connected to the professional mission.
There is an obvious need for a new approach to the problems related to the complex context that now shows us a planet going beyond the critical point. A holistic approach is imperative to study the planet, a method that considers environmental and social ecosystem on the whole, providing all policy makers with a realistic view of the situation and the possible developments.
A big problem for scientists and mankind, is the prediction of disasters. Knowing what is going to happen, as accurately as possible, is the key to be able to provide an effective warning of the population and plan action to safeguard people and properties.
It can be said that the most balanced approach to the problem is based on prevention, referring to all the components, tot the responsibilities, to the fundamental element of consciousness, then knowledge , the disclosure of education.
The scientists study all the possible aspects of disasters, through mathematical models that simulate the mechanisms and processes that determine the occurrence of a catastrophic event, its evolution, the resulting damage. But we are able to know what will happen, but where, when and how, sometimes only partially, for limits or differentiated availability of technology.
It could be interesting to recall some points of the recent State of The Planet Declaration: “Humanity’s impact on the Earth system has become comparable to planetary-scale geological processes such as ice ages. Consensus is growing that we have driven the planet into a new epoch, the Anthropocene, in which many Earth-system processes and the living fabric of ecosystems are now dominated by human activities”
