Interview with Ms. Gessica Allegni, Counselor, Department of Culture, Parks and Forestry, Biodiversity Protection and Equal Opportunities, Emilia-Romagna

17 Nov Interview with Ms. Gessica Allegni, Counselor, Department of Culture, Parks and Forestry, Biodiversity Protection and Equal Opportunities, Emilia-Romagna

Emilia-Romagna has long been recognized for its commitment to environmental protection. Could you outline the current strategic priorities of the Department regarding biodiversity conservation and sustainable land use, while also giving us an overview of the region’s efforts in this field?

Ms. Gessica Allegni: The environmental has become a priority in the political agenda of our region. It has experienced climate and environmental disasters in recent years. This has made us think a lot about our relationship and approach to nature. Having been delegated the task of protection and implementation of biodiversity in the region is certainly a huge responsibility. Regional policies for biodiversity are included in a normative framework defined by national laws. There are also principles defined by European directives. I am referring to the 2030 Agenda and the Natural Restoration Law for defining our guidelines. We have a central goal that guides all our policies in terms of biodiversity. It is about an achievement of 30% of protected areas by 2030 and 10% for strictly protected areas. To date, we are halfway there. We must accelerate and improve our commitment to restore and protect the natural and semi-natural environments of Emilia-Romagna. For the implementation of the regional forest plan, we are working to increase the value of the natural capital of our forests. We consider both the national forest strategy and the national strategy on biodiversity. We are involved in actions that help us to consider the territory, in particular the internal areas, where most of our natural capital is located.  Involving local communities in planning cultural forestry activities is very important for us. We are also focused on the theme of wood transformation. We have an ambitious goal to restore wood that has been lost over time. We import most of the wood that we use, in particular, for buildings in the center. We can take advantage of this with our forests, determining job opportunities and working contextually to create new forests in the plains or low hills. We realize that this is ambitious, but we are moving forward and empowering citizens to join us to make it happen.

The protection of monumental trees and the creation of ecological corridors have received growing public attention. Can you explain the significance and management framework of these programs?

Ms. Gessica Allegni: There are different protection regimes for monumental trees. Firstly, there is a national regulation that applies to all regions of Italy, not just Emilia-Romagna. This provides us with directives and procedures established by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry. At the regional level, the actions we implement come from the Law 20 of 2023, which protects monumental trees and sets all the criteria used to identify new monumental trees, including the protection area covering both the trunk and roots. Several technical criteria must be met in order to recognize a tree as monumental and ensure its protection. In Emilia-Romagna, we have more than six hundred monumental trees in the region, meaning both those recognized by the State and those by the region. These trees are in fact untouchable without specific authorization from the region. They may authorize interventions to ensure the safety of the tree and its surroundings. It is a fundamental part of our natural and historical heritage. Hundreds of trees tell the story of our territory and communities. Each year, we provide funding to support these interventions, carried out with technical expertise. Monumental trees are valuable not only for their natural significance but also for their historical and cultural importance.

Could you describe active collaborations with institutions such as the University of Bologna?

Ms. Gessica Allegni: We work with the University of Bologna, and above all with research institutes. We are studying invasive exotic species. They provide us with technical support and monitoring of our natural areas. They collaborate with our parks to study the evolution of the parks and the forests. These studies enable us to put prevention tools in place.

Speaking of equal opportunities, how does your department work toward this goal?

Ms. Gessica Allegni: I think that the equal opportunities in my department are very important. In Italy, we are having many discussions about social media sites such as Facebook. Thousands of people have joined groups where photos of women have been posted. Men have commented in a way that I define as digital sexual and verbal violence. We need to work on overcoming a patriarchal issue at a cultural level in our society. There has been an evolution in the number of femicides. Although still worrying numbers, these episodes of physical or psychological violence continue to repeat themselves. Our society has not yet been able to reach a true equality between the two sexes, force us to improve our policies here too. We have a framework law on equal opportunities. It is a very important law through which we finance our anti-violence centers to support women who suffer violence. We try to make them autonomous after leaving this path. We have centers for men who commit violence, which promote rehabilitation programs for individuals responsible for domestic and intimate partner violence.  Annually, we do a lot to support projects for the promotion of equality. This is done through local entities, associations and the private sector. The activities in schools for children help them to understand the issues related to the gender gap, gender respect and respect for diversity. I think we are the only region or one of the few, in Italy that has a law against homo-bi-lesbo-transphobia. We have made great strides on this issue in recent years. We still need to do better on the issue of gender equality. If we do not take the approach of a different culture, we will not even be able to face tragedies such as femicides. Repressive measures do not work sufficiently because women are afraid to report. Often, we live in fear that things will not continue. This increases the risk rather than reducing it. We have to work against the stigma that the woman who reports feels towards us. Sometimes the police, in their courageous action of reporting, do not have the cultural training tools to better deal with this type of situation. It is long-term work as a region. This is cultural element defining the quality of our world at all levels. We still have a long way to go in terms of recognizing women’s right. On the positive side, many feminist and female movements have led to an emancipation in the field of women’s rights. When women are freer and more autonomous, society is also as a whole. Next year, we will celebrate the eighty years of women’s right to vote in Italy. That was on June 2, 1946. We hope to organize a series of formative initiatives and events to enable our community to understand how many struggles, battles and sacrifices were made. Today, women and men can enjoy these rights and freedoms that were not taken for granted until a short time ago.

Emilia-Romagna is known for its progressive policies. How do you envision the evolution of your department’s mandate in the coming years, especially in light of emerging social and environmental challenges?

Ms. Gessica Allegni: As I am also the cultural delegate, I have different areas to work on. How do I envision my mandate? I mentioned some goals from Europe, but also those from our regional laws. We also have a beautiful program of urban reforestation. We have almost reached our goal of planting four and a half million trees in our region. Our aim is to reduce the impact of polluting emissions and protect urban areas, particularly in the plains. We also have regulatory goals. We want to adopt a single comprehensive text, a new law on biodiversity, which will also help us integrate the vast network of parks, UNESCO sites, and MAB reserves in our region. We have two national parks, an interregional park, two UNESCO sites, three MAB reserves and fourteen regional parks. We have a great green system that we must manage in the best way. We have a new law that involves communities, that creates awareness about taking care of these places and increasing the protection. This should be considered an opportunity, rather than a limitation. Our parks are places for research and for developing skills in various fields such as climate change. This is a central and urgent issue. It must be addressed at all institutional levels, because a region alone cannot achieve this goal. Often citizens do not realize how much a change of behavior in our daily life can have decisive effects on the future of the environment and on future generations. Through culture, we can build opportunities to increase the skills of our citizens and make them protagonists of this change.  We absolutely need to put this into practice.

Speaking of climate change, the challenge that you mentioned at the beginning, about, the fires throughout Europe. How is your department going to prevent this important challenge?

Ms. Gessica Allegni: We have a relationship with the academic world. Certain facts are not always directly dependent on human action, but in close and constant relationship with the forces of order, with civil society to strengthen awareness. We also have the voluntary environmental guards that play an important role of control and of verification of any inconsistencies or incorrect behaviors that take place within the protected areas. We continue to work, to commit ourselves with the collaboration of the forest carabinieri. They work closely on the issue of biodiversity protection. We are also conducting training to correct behavior about treating the environment in a better manner.

What is your final message for the readers of USA Today?

Ms. Gessica Allegni: My final message is to encourage anyone who has not yet done so, to come and get to know the Emilia-Romagna region. It is an extraordinary region with many opportunities. The quality of life is still very high. The region is rich in history, culture, beauty and good food. We are known as a hospitable region with the ability to open up and have a dialogue with our visitors.  I believe that in a historical moment as we are currently experiencing, it can be an additional incentive to come to a region that has grown as a sign of solidarity.I want to continue to work on the values that make up our identity in my role as delegate.