Interview – Alessandro Bratti, Secretary General of the Po River District Authority (Italy)

The Po River basin, Italy’s largest, covers 24% of the country’s territory and is home to 17 million people. The Po River Basin Authority coordinates water resource management, hydrogeological risk protection, and environmental planning, integrating EU directives for sustainable management and the use of treated wastewater for agricultural irrigation.

How is the Po Basin Authority addressing the challenges of climate change for water management in the Po Basin region?

Our primary focus lies in effective planning. Consequently, we are trying to improve the implementation of both the Water Framework Directive and the flooding directives. This effort is particularly pertinent in a context that has undergone significant changes, predominantly attributable to climate change. The repercussions have been notably pronounced in our basin, designated as a hotspot by the IPCC, meaning  it’s susceptible to alternating periods of drought and flooding, as evidenced in 2022.

In response to these challenges, we are actively considering a revised approach to managing lending programs  according to the region. Collaboration between the authorities and regions is imperative in this regard. The overarching objective is a comprehensive transformation in our planning strategies, encompassing not only construction practices but also urbanization processes in flat areas, such as the Po Valley.

Why should basin-scale management be at the forefront of Integrated Water Resources Management public policies?

 In my opinion, of course, the best scale is the basin scale. It’s the only way to address the problem of water management in a situation like that when the frequency of flooding and drought periods has really increased in the last two decades.

How is your authority organization working with other basin organizations in Italy or in Europe?

In Italy, we have five basin authorities on the peninsula and two small authorities whose role overlaps with the region, like Sicily and Sardinia. Well, we are trying to broaden our view. So, this is why we are also trying to establish connections in Europe, with other basins, significant ones like our basin, to exchange ideas, to exchange tools, to exchange items, and probably mainly things to change the solution on how to face climate change.

Talking about solutions, we heard a lot about the Italian experience in water reuse.

We are working on reuse, because we have a high experience with it. We are waiting also for the application of the new law according to European regulations. So we are just in these days debating how to apply in a correct way the European regulation. It’s not the only solution for drought, but it can help a lot. So I think we can exchange this good practice with other countries. And of course, we also would like to learn from other countries.

What do you think about the importance of INBO and organizations like INBO?

We just joined INBO a few months ago, because I really believe that to be part of a network like INBO could be really important to exchange ideas and solutions. I think that to face a new challenge like climate change, you don’t have a historical situation. So we need to experiment with new solutions. And for doing that, you need to exchange the situations, to exchange the different solutions in each country that you can apply. In my opinion, I hope to have the possibility also in the future to work inside INBO because I really think it’s important to exchange experience.

*Interview conducted during the 21st International Euro-INBO Conference, October 2023.