The project brief
The project aims at re-establishing and stabilising the green infrastructure made up by the network of resurgences, water courses and their environment and restore their function and the ecosystem services they provide.
The rescue project includes 26 resurgence systems (a total of 43 springheads) that have already been identified by a previous census, their banks, irrigation ditches and connected waterways.
The work will be carried out following one of 6 modes of implementation and will take into consideration the features and importance of the site. 3 of the planned operations include work on the riverbed, the banks, the area around the springheads and initial tract of the resurgence irrigation ditches. Moreover it will include the planting of woods to act as a buffer zone to protect the quality of the resurgence water in areas where there is a higher, stable concentration of local biodiversity.
Once the work will be finished, both on the riverbed and along the riparian strip, the area will be left in a pristine, natural and biodiverse condition; especially with respect to the indigenous species of animal and vegetation, some of which are of Community importance (e.g. river lamprey and the Italian agile frog). To guarantee their future conservation, rights of way will be provided for access to the sites – also in the inter-municipal town and country planning (PATI) – on private property near the principle springheads and along the initial tracts of the resurgence irrigation ditches, in preservation of public interest.
All the planting and replanting of tree and plant species will be carried out using only vegetation material obtained from seeds or cuttings taken on site. The work of replanting along the banks will be done with direct involvement of local farmers, while the management of the springheads and the resurgence irrigation ditches will be direct responsibility of Brenta Land Reclamation Consortium.
The recovery works will also include the creation of a resurgence, in the town square, for demonstration purposes and to enhance local public awareness.
The aim of raising awareness is to promote the duplication of the project throughout the Veneto-Friuli middle valley belt, targeting and involving different entities such as, local administration, land reclamation consortium, farmers associations, sport fishing associations, nature and environmental associations, schools and universities.