EU Withdraws Legal Case Against Venice Flood Barriers

The dams are intended to reduce the risk of flooding, and so protect the low-lying city, but at the same time they have an impact on the ecological values of the lagoon. As a result of measures now proposed by the Italian authorities to limit the extent of damage to the ecosystems and compensate for the impact, and in view of the objectives of the project, the commission said Tuesday it is closing the case against the so-called MoSE project.

European Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said, "I welcome the measures now proposed by the Italian authorities in this case, aimed at limiting the environmental impact of this significant project. We will, however, follow the promised measures closely to ensure they are fully implemented and achieve their objectives."

The tower of the cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta a Torcello rises above the salt marshes and tidal mud flats that surround Venice. (Photo by Michael Johanning)

The Venice lagoon is an extensive brackish coastal lagoon along the eastern coast of the northern Adriatic Sea, between the mouths of the Brenta and Piave rivers. Three large, open waterbodies form the actual lagoon, surrounded by a chain of smaller, closed lagoons of lower salinity.

Venice has a history of flooding going back hundreds of years. Built on water, the city has canals instead of roads and sits only centimeters above sea level in some places. In addition, the city is sinking.

Scheduled for completion in 2012, the the Experimental Electromechanical Module, or MoSE, project is designed to eliminate flooding in Venice.

The project consists of a system of 79 mobile barriers designed to protect the three entrances to the lagoon. The barriers will stay on the seabed, invisible until high tides and storms are forecast. They will then be inflated, blocking the sea from the lagoon and reducing high water levels. After the threat has passed, they will be lowered beneath the waters again.

In addition to the outstanding cultural and architectural importance of Venice, the lagoon hosts areas of ecological importance at the European level, designated as Natura 2000 sites.

The Venice lagoon hosts the largest population of water birds in Italy - more than 60 species have been observed using the salt marsh and island habitats for nesting, over wintering, or as stopover points during migration. In January, as many as 130,000 birds make use of the lagoon.

The lagoon also serves as a productive fish habitat, hosting many species that migrate between lagoon and sea environments to complete their lifecycles.

Workers are building movable barriers to protect Venice from high sea levels. (Photo courtesy Scripps Institution of Oceanography)

Dimas says that in authorizing the construction of the barriers, the Italian authorities did not correctly follow EU laws for the protection of nature. Italy inadequately assessed the impact of the project on the protected areas and failed to propose all the necessary mitigation and compensation measures.

As a result, the Commission sent written warnings to the Italian authorities in December 2005 and again in July 2007.

Following extensive discussions with the commission, the Italian authorities have now agreed to implementing a series of measures, some of which have already been adopted, to limit the impact on the protected areas.

Italy agreed to the suspension of certain construction works at specific periods to reduce the disturbance on birds in the lagoon.

Authorities agreed to the monitoring of construction by independent bodies and setting up a website, open to the public, to provide information on the ongoing works and the findings of the related environmental monitoring.

And finally, Italy agreed to the designation of additional areas in the lagoon as Sites of Community Importance protected under the EU Habitats Directive, a law that safeguards wildlife habitat.

As a result of these new measures, the commission is closing the case, bearing in mind what Dimas called "the need to find a balance between protecting Venice on one hand, and safeguarding the ecological importance of the Venice lagoon on the other."

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2009. All rights reserved.