The Tagliamento: a river of divisions
The Tagliamento River, 170 km2 long, is not only the longest river in the region, but also its most important ecological corridor. It's not for nothing that Italians call it Re dei fiumi alpini ("King of the Alpine Rivers"): it's considered the only Alpine river to have preserved its original morphology, unaltered by the hand of man, notably without dams. But that's about to change.
The river's torrential flow regularly threatens local residents with impressive floods, one of which caused monumental human and material damage in 1966. The various projects proposed to secure the riverbanks have come up against an indefatigable division: on the one hand, the downstream communes, led by Latisana, which is highly threatened by flooding, vote in favor of any project that protects their citizens from flooding, and on the other, the upstream Alpine communes, which oppose any proposal that threatens the river's environment. However, it is the Basin Authority plan that will decide, and the project seems to be moving in the direction of a dam at the Pinzano commune. However, the case, already on the table in the early 2000s, is full of twists and turns, not least due to the strong mobilization of citizens and environmentalists. To be continued..
Marine pollution on the coast
While air quality in Friuli-Venezia Giulia is quite good, with the exception of Trieste, whose port contributes 20% of nitrogen dioxide emissions, the same cannot be said for the marine environment. In 2021, three of the 10 samples taken from coastal waters exceeded legal standards, notably at Muggia, on the outskirts of Trieste. All three polluted sites are located at the mouths of rivers that discharge wastewater. Added to this are discharges from the port of Trieste, as well as fertilizers and pesticides, in a region where agriculture plays a predominant role. Garbage is also a problem, with 6.5 tonnes of it being dumped along the Friuli-Venezia Giulia coast every year - the equivalent of three truckloads.
The region is determined to eradicate this problem, notably through the Italian-Croatian MARLESS project, running from 2020 to 2022. More than 4 million euros have been invested in this project to find the technologies that will solve the problem of marine waste. Another project, AMare FVG, aims to get citizens involved in cleaning up the seabed. By 2020, Trieste's Canal Grande had been completely cleared of garbage, as had Barcola beach.
When drought looms
How ironic for a region so closely tied to its marine resources to be suffering from drought! And yet, for several years now, water has been in short supply. Rationing has already been introduced to save the precious liquid, while the heatwave of 2022 marks a new episode of drought. At the same time, the water table has been falling steadily for some thirty years, mainly due to overexploitation of underground resources, while a large proportion of reserves are consumed by agriculture. As for the average flow of springs, it has been halved since 1980. On the eve of the summer of 2022, the President of the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Massimiliano Frediga, signed a declaration of water shortage, which entailed a number of measures, such as limiting domestic use and releasing water from the Salcano dam on the Isonzo river, to keep the rivers afloat and irrigate agriculture while preserving fish stocks.
Crowd of jellyfish: symptom of a disorder
The images went around the world. In the spring of 2022, a crowd of jellyfish(Rhizostoma pulmo), so dense as to form an opaque carpet, descended on the Triestine coast. It's not the first time, however, as this seasonal phenomenon occurs almost every spring, due to the mild temperatures that push the jellyfish to the surface.
But seasonality doesn't explain everything, and the intensity of the phenomenon was absolutely unprecedented. It is the pinnacle of a phenomenon that has been gaining momentum since the early 2000s. While several possible causes are still being investigated, such as wind action or overfishing, global warming seems to be among the culprits. It is increasing sea temperatures for longer and longer periods, guaranteeing jellyfish a long reproduction period, which could explain their proliferation.
Biodiversity: between peaks and coastline
From the eternal snows of the Alps to the fine sands of the Adriatic coast, not forgetting the plains, Friuli-Venezia Giulia's great ecological diversity makes for incredible biodiversity. Unlike the waterways, the region's forests have been extensively modified by man, in particular to make way for agriculture, one of the pillars of the local economy. Between the 15th and 18th centuries in particular, deforestation proceeded at a furious pace. Despite this, the region is home to over 3,000 different plant species, some of which are endemic, such asArmeria helodes andErucastrum palustre.
Due to human activity, some species are endangered. However, the Direction Centrale des Ressources Agricoles, Naturelles et Forestières is working to protect and even rehabilitate them. Such is the case of the otters(Lutra lutra) which, after having deserted the Tagliamento valley for fifty years, have finally reappeared!
Nature reserves and parks
The region is home to two regional nature parks and numerous reserves. The first, the Dolomites Friuli Nature Park, covers the high Alpine peaks over an area of 40,000 hectares. Historically uninhabited, the park's territory is made up of an unspoilt mountain landscape. It is home to remarkable flora and fauna, such as the famous edelweiss(Leontopodium nivale subsp. alpinum) and the equally famous Sabot de Vénus(Cypripedium calceolus), an orchid that blooms from May to July.
The second, the Julian Pre-Alps Nature Park, covers 10,000 hectares on the Slovenian border. It's a haven for many species, especially ungulates such as chamois, deer, roe deer and ibex. But the official symbol of the park is the bartavelle partridge, which has made it its stronghold. In addition, there are a dozen reserves, including the Miramare marine nature reserve in the Gulf of Trieste, a 30-hectare area where marine life such as sponges, crustaceans and molluscs thrive.
