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 is not for nothing that Italians call it Re dei fiumi alpini ("King of the Alpine Rivers"): it is considered the only Alpine river to have preserved its original morphology, without any modifications by the hand of Man, especially without a dam. However, this may change.
Its torrential flow regularly threatens the residents, because of impressive floods, one of which caused monumental human and material damage in 1966. The various projects proposed to secure the banks of the river are faced with an unremitting division: on the one hand, the municipalities downstream, led by Latisana, which is very threatened by floods, which vote in favor of any project that protects their citizens from floods, and on the other, the Alpine municipalities upstream, which oppose any proposal that threatens the environment of the river. Only the Basin Authority plan will decide and the project seems to be in favor of a dam in the municipality of Pinzano. However, the case, already on the table at the beginning of the 2000s, is full of twists and turns, especially because of a strong mobilization of citizens and environmentalists. Case to follow..
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 of the marine environment. In 2021, out of 10 samples taken in coastal waters, three exceeded the legal standards, including in Muggia, on the outskirts of Trieste. The three polluted sites are located at the mouths of rivers, because they discharge wastewater. In addition, there are discharges from the port of Trieste, as well as discharges of fertilizers and pesticides, in this region where agriculture is predominant. Waste is also a problem, as every year 6.5 tons of it are found along the coast of Friuli-Venezia Giulia: that's three truckloads.
The region intends to eradicate this problem, especially through the Italian-Croatian project MARLESS, extended from 2020 to 2022. With this project, more than 4 million euros have been invested to find the technologies that will solve the problem of marine waste. Another project, AMare FVG, aims to involve citizens in cleaning the seabed. In 2020, the Canal Grande in Trieste was completely free of litter, as was the beach at Barcola.
When drought looms
What an irony for a region so linked to its marine resources, to suffer from drought! And yet, water has been in short supply for several years now. Rationing has already been put in place to save the precious liquid, while the heat wave of 2022 marks a new episode of drought. At the same time, the water table has been falling continuously for the past thirty years, mainly due to the overexploitation of underground resources, while a large part of the reserves is consumed by agriculture. As for the average flow of springs, it has been divided by two since 1980. At the dawn of the summer of 2022, the president of the autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Massimiliano Frediga, signed a declaration of water scarcity, which implies numerous measures, such as the limitation of domestic uses, as well as the release of water from the Salcano dam, located on the Isonzo river, to allow the rivers to be kept afloat, and thus irrigate agriculture while preserving the fish.
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 that it forms an opaque carpet, fell on the Triestine coast. This is not the first time, however, since this seasonal phenomenon occurs almost every spring, due to the mild temperatures, which push the jellyfish to the surface.
But seasonality does not explain everything and the intensity of the phenomenon was absolutely unprecedented. It is the peak of a phenomenon that is growing since the early 2000s. If several tracks are still studied, such as the action of the wind or overfishing, global warming seems to be among the culprits. It increases marine 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 sand of the Adriatic coast, passing through the plains, the great ecological diversity of Friuli-Venezia Giulia allows it an incredible biodiversity. In contrast to the waterways, the forests of the region have been largely modified by man, especially to make way for agriculture, one of the pillars of the local economy. Between the 15th and 18th centuries in particular, deforestation was rampant. Despite this, the region is home to more than 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 Central Directorate of Agricultural, Natural and Forestry Resources is working to protect them and even to reintegrate them. The efforts are real, so much so that species that were thought to be extinct at the regional level have finally reappeared, as 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 one, the Natural Park of the Friulian Dolomites, covers the high alpine peaks on an area of 40,000 hectares. The territory of the park, historically uninhabited, is composed of an intact mountain landscape. It is home to remarkable flora and fauna, such as the famous edelweiss(Leontopodium nivale subsp. alpinum) and the equally famous Venus' slipper(Cypripedium calceolus), an orchid that blooms from May to July
The second, the Julian Pre-Alps Natural Park, covers 10,000 hectares on the Slovenian border. It is a real haven for many species, especially ungulates, such as chamois, deer, roe deer or ibex. But the official symbol of the park is the red-legged partridge, which has made it its stronghold. In addition to this, there are a dozen reserves, including the natural marine reserve of Miramare, in the Gulf of Trieste, an area of 30 hectares where marine life thrives, such as certain species of sponges, crustaceans or mollusks.
