Descrizione 1
Angela Cimini (Università “La Sapienza); Pasquale Dichicco, Chiara Giuliani, Lorella Mariani.
This indicator quantifies soil consumption within specific distances from the coastline and tracks its temporal evolution. Nearly a quarter of the land within 300 meters of the coast has been urbanized, while 19% of the area between 300 and 1,000 meters and 8.7% of the area between 1 and 10 km have been affected. In comparison, only 6.5% of the rest of the territory has undergone soil consumption.
The indicator provides an overview of the percentage of soil consumption due to artificial land cover in Italian coastal areas. Land cover is related to but distinct from land use. According to Directive 2007/2/EC, land cover refers to the biophysical surface of the Earth, including artificial surfaces, agricultural land, forests, semi-natural areas, wetlands, and water bodies. Soil sealing is the most evident form of artificial land cover. Other forms of artificial cover include:
- Total loss of soil resources through excavation and open-pit mining activities.
- Partial loss of soil functionality, often remediable, due to contamination, compaction, and the presence of industrial plants, infrastructure, buildings, permanent material deposits, or transport routes.
Coastal areas hold irreplaceable ecological, cultural, and economic resources, making them unique ecological assets. Soil consumption in these regions leads to irreversible alterations in landscapes and ecological balances, affecting sedimentology and geomorphology, increasing salinization processes, and contributing to pollution of soil, surface water, and groundwater, with direct impacts on marine water quality.
To quantify the extent of artificial land cover in coastal areas and monitor the temporal evolution of the phenomenon, particularly in regions where tourism pressure and urbanization from new infrastructure are most intense.
The European Environmental Action Programs and Agenda 21 set general objectives for sustainable land use, nature protection, and biodiversity conservation. The European Commission has long promoted sustainable land and soil use.
The new Soil Health Law proposal (COM_2023_416_final - Soil Health Law) highlights the importance of maintaining healthy soils to ensure essential ecosystem services and introduces best practices to mitigate the negative effects of soil sealing. These objectives were further detailed in previous EU strategic documents, such as:
- Roadmap to a Resource-Efficient Europe
- Thematic Strategy on the Urban Environment (COM/2005/0718)
On July 5, 2023, the European Commission adopted a directive proposal titled Soil Monitoring and Resilience. Instead of immediately enforcing strict soil health regulations—originally planned under the EU Soil Strategy for 2030—the Commission opted for a two-step approach, prioritizing monitoring and evaluation of soil quality before implementing binding legal limits, which will be introduced six years after the directive’s approval.
On August 18, 2024, the Nature Restoration Law entered into force (Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 [1]), aimed at halting biodiversity loss and restoring ecosystems to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 and enhance food security. It establishes obligations for ecosystem restoration, including:
- Restoring 20% of degraded ecosystems by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.
- Restoring at least 30% of terrestrial, coastal, freshwater, and marine ecosystems in poor condition by 2030, focusing on protected habitats and Natura 2000 sites.
- Removing artificial barriers to restore at least 25,000 km of free-flowing rivers.
- Planting at least three billion trees by 2030 to improve biodiversity and urban ecosystems.
[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/IT/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202401991
At the regional level, several laws impose progressive restrictions on soil consumption. Regarding coastal areas, Law 431/85 (known as the "Galasso Law") established landscape protection measures and a complete ban on construction within 300 meters of the coastline.
Descrizione 2
Munafò, M. (a cura di), 2024. Consumo di suolo, dina-miche territoriali e servizi ecosistemici. Edizione 2024. Report ambientali SNPA, 43/2024
Difficulty in the availability of very high-resolution imagery for certain areas.
The availability of very high-resolution imagery is instrumental in improving the quality of the indicator, making estimates of land consumption within coastal areas more consistent and accurate.
Qualificazione dati
For data on land consumption: (http://groupware.sinanet.isprambiente.it/uso-copertura-e-consumo-di-suolo/library/consumo-di-suolo)
National, Regional
2006, 2012, 2015-2023
Qualificazione indicatore
Using GIS tools, the 2023 high-resolution national soil consumption map was analyzed alongside buffers of 300 meters, 1,000 meters, and 10 km from the coastline, and the percentage of land consumed was calculated. By comparing these results with previous years, the new soil consumption affecting coastal areas was assessed over the last three years (2021-2023) and the period 2006-2023. New satellite data has improved the accuracy of historical estimates.
Despite being fragile ecosystems with high biological productivity, coastal areas continue to experience high soil consumption. In 2023, soil consumption within 300 meters of the coastline was three times higher than the national average (22.6% vs. 7.16%) (see Land Sealing and Soil consumption Indicator).
Analysis of the 2006-2023 time series (Table 5) shows that the regions with the highest soil consumption increase within 300 meters of the coastline are:
- Basilicata (+12%)
- Molise (+6.8%)
By contrast, Puglia, Lazio, Marche, Tuscany, Campania, Liguria, and Sardinia show smaller increases than the national average (2.8%).
Between 300 and 1,000 meters, Basilicata leads with a 14% increase, followed by Veneto and Calabria (8.3%).
Between 1 and 10 km from the coast, Puglia, Basilicata, and Lazio all recorded increases above 10%. The same trend is observed in areas beyond 10 km, with Puglia (11%) and Basilicata (8.2%) leading, followed by Sicily and Abruzzo (both above 7%). Liguria and Tuscany consistently show lower-than-average increases across all distances.
Dati
Tabella 1: Distribuzione regionale del consumo di suolo nelle aree costiere (entro 300 metri)
Elaborazioni ISPRA su cartografia SNPA
Aggiornamento 2023
Tabella 2: Distribuzione regionale del consumo di suolo nelle aree costiere (tra i 300 e 1000m)
Elaborazione ISPRA su cartografia SNPA
Aggiornamento 2023
Tabella 3: Distribuzione regionale del consumo di suolo nelle aree costiere (tra i 1 e 10 Km)
Elaborazione ISPRA su cartografia SNPA
Aggiornamento 2023
Tabella 4: Distribuzione regionale del consumo di suolo nelle aree costiere (oltre i 10 Km)
Elaborazione ISPRA su cartografia SNPA
Aggiornamento 2022
Tabella 5: Variazioni tra il 2006 e il 2023 degli ettari consumati nelle aree costiere
Elaborazione ISPRA su cartografia SNPA
Aggiornamento 2022
Figura 1: Suolo consumato in percentuale in fascia costiera
ISPRA
Soil consumption in coastal areas is assessed based on different distances from the coastline: 0-300 m: Nearly one-quarter of the land is urbanized; 300-1,000 m: 19.0% urbanized; 1-10 km: 8.7% urbanized; Beyond 10 km: 6.5% urbanized. Regional Analysis (Table 1): The highest soil consumption (0-300 m) is recorded in Liguria (48.2%) and Marche (44.4%).Abruzzo, Emilia-Romagna, Campania, Lazio, Puglia, Calabria, and Sicily exceed 30%. Other regions remain below the national average (22.6%). From 2022 to 2023, soil consumption percentages have increased across all distances except for Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto (minor changes). Between 300 and 1,000 meters, the highest rates are in: Campania (30.3%), Marche (30.8%), Abruzzo (32.7%), Emilia-Romagna (35.4%) (Figure 1, Table 1).