On September 26 and 27, Ponza hosted the’International Workshop & Living Lab “Water scarcity solutions for Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean”, organized as part of the European project AQUAMAN – Evaluation by AQUAtic systems for the Mitigation of water scarcity in Mediterranean islands and coastal tourist destinations under severe pressure, funded by the program Interreg Euro-MED.
The initiative was also attended by ANCI Lazio, In the framework of the dialogue between institutions, local administrations, universities, experts and stakeholders on the issues of water scarcity, climate resilience and the development of sustainable tourism models in the islands and coastal destinations of the Mediterranean.
The first day, Saturday 26 September, began with the institutional greetings of the mayor of Ponza, Francesco Ambrosino, the coordinator of the AQUAMAN project, Julia Sáiz-Pardo, and Professor Fernando Nardi from the University of Rome Tor Vergata, followed by a presentation of the project’s objectives.
The program continued with several international panels dedicated to water governance, climate resilience, sustainable tourism, and the involvement of local communities, With particular attention paid to the specificities of island territories, a further period of in-depth discussion was devoted to urban systems and water infrastructure, analyzing solutions to make island tourist destinations more sustainable and resilient.
The day of Sunday, September 27, was instead focused on Ponza Living Lab, conceived as a space for direct dialogue with the actors of the territory. The round table “Water, tourism and climate resilience in islands territories”, coordinated by Manuel Bordini of IFEL, saw the participation, among others, of Giuseppe Rinaldi from Ancitel EA and Chiara Sbarbati from the University of Tuscia.
Following this, a specific session on water and environmental challenges of the small islands, Moderated by Professor Manuel Onorati of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, with the interventions of the President of the Province of Latina, Federico Carnevale, of Umberto Bernola, Director of the Technical and Operational Secretariat of EGATO 4 Lazio Meridionale – Latina, and of Giuseppe Pugliese, General Director of ASIP.
The presence of ANCI Lazio It fits into the Association’s commitment to encourage the involvement of municipalities in European programs and cooperation and innovation initiatives dedicated to the main challenges facing territories. For insular realities, issues such as the availability and management of water resources, pressure related to tourist flows, and adaptation to climate change take on particularly significant importance.
The appointment in Ponza thus represented an opportunity to bring together Local experiences, scientific expertise and European planning, contributing to the construction of possible solutions and policy directions for a more sustainable management of resources in the islands of the Mediterranean. The work concluded with the presentation of the main results of the Living Lab and the identification of possible future developments of the project.