RENATURATION OF THE

RIVER

Phase 1

The middle stretch Project included in the National Recovery and Resilience

Plan

ABASTRACT

2021

Under the patronage of:

RENATURATION OF THE PO RIVER

Programme for a first phase of interventions. The middle Po Valley stretch PREFACE WWF and Anepla (Confindustria's National Association of Stone Quarrymen and Stone Producers) propose a wide-ranging action for the renaturation of the Po. The proposal has been shared and patronized by the Po River District Basin Authority and AIPo (Interregional Agency for the Po) and is coherent with the "European Biodiversity Strategy", which foresees the requalification and reconnection of at least 25000 km of European rivers; moreover, the Po is one of the two special cases highlighted in the "National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change". In the considered stretch of river there are 2 UNESCO MAB areas: "Po Grande" and "Delta Po".

The Po River strip

THE RENATURATION ACTION

The area covered by this proposal, which constitutes a first outline for the Po basin, goes from the province of to that of Rovigo, encompassing , Emilia Romagna and Veneto regions. This is the river basin area, delimited by the main banks, which covers a total surface of about 32,431.18 ha. Thirty-seven areas have been identified to be renaturalised as a priority along the middle Po Valley stretch, plus seven in the Po Delta. The present proposal adopts the principles and contents of the Po River Sediment Management Programmes, drawn up in implementation of the Sediment Management Directive, adopted by resolution no. 9 of the Institutional Committee on 5 April 2006. The objectives are:

- rebalancing the active morphological processes, implemented also by lowering the navigation groins, which over the years have become too high to be surmounted by the ordinary Po flows, but which are being adjusted in order to guarantee a renaturation action, allowing the current conditions of navigability and

- improving hydraulic safety conditions, decreasing as much as possible the hydrodynamic stresses in correspondence of the deforested embankments and guaranteeing the current uses.

- Recovering the ecological corridor represented by the riverbed and the natural perifluvial area, composed of a considerable diversity of environments (pebbly shores, islands, sandbars, riparian woods, oxbows, bodri....) that it is important to protect, as also demonstrated by the numerous Natura 2000 sites present (37), through a widespread renaturation action.

Schemes of model interventions to reactivate the river's morphological processes

Measures are foreseen for the restoration and reactivation of side branches and oxbows, the lowering of navigation groynes, natural reforestation to consolidate and extend the existing wooded areas, also with a protective function (action already started by several local authorities), containment and eradication of invasive alien plant species. An adequate habitat diversity will be guaranteed in the executive projects, also thanks to the collaboration with the Natura2000 managing authorities . The table with the list of interventions is attached (Annex 1).

GOVERNANCE The implementation phase will involve the District Basin Authority, the Po Interregional Agency, the Regions and all the territorially competent local authorities. The Po River Basin District Authority will coordinate the implementation of the project and will promote the establishment of a working group in which the Regions, AIPo, as well as all competent public authorities, scientific institutions and non-institutional actors, such as WWF and ANEPLA (promoters of the proposal) and other

territorial stakeholders will participate. The governance identified will also promote and guarantee a participatory process for the design and implementation of interventions

Representation of the "core", "buffer" and "transition" areas contained in the "Dossier of candidacy for the Po Grande Biosphere Reserve" (September 2018)

BUDGET For the realization of this first phase of the renaturation of the Po river, which allows to activate ecosystem services for an estimated value between 147 and 256 million € (see Annex 2), an investment of 357,065,689.17 € has been requested in the chapter of "Green Revolution and Ecological Transition" of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. The project will be coordinated by the Po River Basin District Authority. A synthetic scheme of the investment request for the first strand for the renaturation of the Po River is provided below.

TOTAL TOTAL UNIT COST QUANTITY ACTIONS ha/mc/km ha/mc/km excluding VAT € excluding VAT € including VAT

Restoration of oxbows and abandoned branches • (ha) 1.559,06 10.000,00 15.590.600,00 19.020.532,00 Reactivation and reopening of abandoned oxbows and branches • (mc) 51.486.900,00 2,95 151.886.355,00 185.301.353,10

Reducing the artificiality of the riverbed; (lowering groins - km) 37,20 1.740.000,00 64.721.040,00 78.959.668,80

Naturalistic reforestation; (ha) 337,60 15.000,00 5.064.000,00 6.178.080,00 Conservation interventions in the Po Delta 300.000,00 366.000,00

Control of invasive allochthonous vegetation species (cost € 4500,00 ha 599,20 4.500,00 13.482.000,00 16.448.040,00 year x 5 years) Maintenance of the first 5 years of the first plantation forest (cost € 337,60 4.500,00 7.596.000,00 9.267.120,00 4500,00 ha year x 5 years)

258.639.995,00 315.540.793,90 Participatory processes - communication and 15 technical facilitators x 15,00 40.000,00 3.000.000,00 3.660.000,00 5 years Design, work direction project management (VIncA) (percentage of 10% 31.554.079,39 works) Studies and monitoring x 5 years 2% 6.310.815,88 Total € including VAT 357.065.689,17

ANNEX 1 - List of sites with identification of the types of intervention and their quantification.

km)

-

(hectares)

abandoned abandoned

Naturalistic Naturalistic

groins

oxbows and and oxbows

reopening of of reopening

Reducing the the Reducing

allochthonous allochthonous

Restoration of of Restoration

branches • (ha) • branches

Reactivation and and Reactivation the of artificiality

reforestation; (ha) reforestation;

vegetation species vegetation

Control of invasive invasive of Control

total area involved involved area total

riverbed; (lowering (lowering riverbed;

abandoned oxbows oxbows abandoned

and branches • (mc) • and branches (PV) 640 22 32 (PV) - isola Gerole 250 2,2 55000 4,4 12,5 Arena Po (PV) 117 1,5 37500 25 5,85 - isola Dogana foce Lambro PV) 712 0,6 150000 16,6 35,6 Somaglia (Lodi) 509 5 25 Foce del (PC- PV) 42,2 7 2,1 Foce (PC) 132 4,6 115000 0 2,1 6,6 Mortizza (Pc) 65 2,56 65000 0.14 3 3,25 Caselle Landi isolone (Lodi) 82,4 4,4 114400 0,16 2 4,1 Foce Nure (PC) 190 10000000 50 Isola Pinedo e Bosco di Caorso (PC) 474 3 24 Bocche d'Adda (Lodi) 336 18 450000 0,34 26 16,8 Isola Serafini (PC) 30 3000000 5 Olza-Fogarole (PC) 25 25 5 5 Lanca dei Livrini (PC) 60 30 500000 20 10 Gerre de' Caprioli (Cr) 133 10 6,7 Zibello (PR) 740 70 2800000 2 0 37 San Daniele Po - Isola Pescaroli (CR) 221 170 4100000 1,9 10 11,05 Roccabianca PR) 431 180 6200000 4,5 8 21,55 Torricella - Lanca di Gerole (CR) 454 200 2400000 1,7 22,7 Coltaro (PR) 102 50 1300000 2,9 1,5 5,1 Colorno (PR) 599 0,77 10 29,95 Fossacaprara (CR) 454 380 7700000 3 2 22,7 Mezzano Inferiore (PR) 448 200 2300000 1,6 12 22,4 Viadana (Mn) 206 90 2500000 0,5 38 10,3 Boretto (RE) 243 3,5 5 12,15 (MN) 734 2,4 8 36,7 (MN) 791 120 2200000 6 10 39,5 "Isola Trento” San Colombano di Suzzara (MN) 113 10 0,3 5 5,65 Foce Oglio (MN) 686 2,9 1 34,3 Borgoforte (MN) 525 1,3 5 26,25 San Giacomo Po (MN) 199 0,3 3 9,95 (MN) 367 0,3 1 18,35 (MN) 154 0,35 1 7,7 (MN) 377 5500000 0,16 10 18,85 Isola Boschina Ostiglia (MN) 56 0,142 2,8 Riqualificazione tra Ostiglia e Borgofranco (MN) 295 0,2 0 0,174 1 14,75 11992,6 1.559,06 51.486.900 37,196 337,6 599,2

ANNEX 2 – The table shows an initial assessment of the ecosystem service benefits that could result from the proposed renaturation on the Po River

ECOSISTEMS ECOSISTEMIC SERVICES VALORE SERVIZIO UNIT BIOPHYSICAL SERVICE TOTAL BIOPHYSICAL VALUE AREA/VOLUME OF INTERVENTION TOTAL VALUE BIOFISICO UNITARIO VALUE PER UNIT Quantity of N 7.5 €/kgN removed (considering the SELF-DEPURATION CAPACITY transformed total operating costs of the 260kgN/ha x 337,6 (avoided treatment costs x denitrification process in a treatment 337,6 ha 657.150€ (max) ha=66820kg denitrification mechanism 260kgN/ha plant)

FOREST performed by the forest system) 0.7 €/kgN removed (considering only 61.443,2€ (min) the cost of the denitrification function) Quantity of C sequestred Carbon sequestration 143,42 ton/ha 337,6 ha 1.112.973,3 € average values of for forest areas 6,3 €/t CO2eq 48.418 ton/C = circa 135.000 ton/CO2 Quantity of N SELF-DEPURATION CAPACITY transformed (avoided treatment costs x denitrification mechanism 330 Kg/ha/year performed by the wetland 7,5 €/kgN removed 330 Kg/ha/year 1559,06 ha = 3.858.673,5€ (max) system) 0,7 €/kgN removed 496518 kg 1559,06 ha WETLANDS 360.267,6 € (min) REGULATION OF THE Water infiltrated into the HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE aquifer 7 €/m3 n.d n.d n.d groundwater recharge n.d REGULATION OF THE 51,486,900 m3 of material handled stored water m3 140.000.000€-(min) HYDROLOGICAL CYCLE Flood 7-11 €/m3 stored water assumes 20,000,000 m3 of possible 220.000.000€ max) discharge storage capacity

10-40% marketable of 5.148.690€ (min) SUPPLY OF LITHOID MATERIALS 1/1,5 €/ m3 51,486,900 m3 of inert 30.892.140€ material (max)

Con il patrocinio di:

eroded soil forest areas 4tonn/ha agricultural areas 23 soil retained 19t x 337,6 337,6 ha EROSION CONTROL 42 €/ m3 * 269.404,8€ tons/ha hax1(gr/cm3)=4883m3 forest soil retention capacity 19 tons/ha

Con il patrocinio di: