From March 26th to 29th, a volunteer camp organized by VeGAL took place in Caorle, part of the Interreg Italy-Slovenia "Ero-STOP" project in collaboration with Legambiente Veneto. The camp aimed at educating younger generations about the fragility of the coastal landscape. On the third day, the conference "Coast in Transition. The Veneto Coast Facing the Climate Crisis" was held in the fish market hall. The conference, featuring prominent figures from the scientific world and beyond, brought together the nine volunteers from across the Veneto region and an audience of approximately fifty interested citizens.
The conference was attended by Diego Paltrinieri and Giancarlo Faina, representatives of CoReMa Spiagge SRL; Sergio Grego, General Director of the Eastern Veneto Land Reclamation Consortium; Luca Carniello, professor at the University of Padua - Department of Civil, Building and Environmental Engineering - DICEA; and forestry engineer Marco Abordi. The conference was concluded by Luigi Lazzaro, President of Legambiente Veneto.
During the volunteer camp, young volunteers (all between 20 and 25 years old) received training to contribute to the creation and dissemination of a culture of prevention and coastal protection, particularly regarding coastal erosion, the effects of climate change, and best practices for sustainable environmental use. Friday was dedicated to training the youth on local biodiversity, particularly the Caretta caretta sea turtle and the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus), with the aim of spreading a culture of nature conservation and encouraging responsible behavior among the local community and tourists. The camp continued on Saturday afternoon and Sunday with additional training sessions, exploration of the area, and public outreach.
The common challenge addressed by VeGal with the Ero-STOP project - Advanced and sustainable approaches to soil erosion prevention is adaptation to climate change and disaster risk prevention and resilience, taking into account ecosystem-based approaches. The project is part of Priority 2 of the ITA-SLO 21/27 programme “PO2 - A resilient, greener and low-carbon Europe transitioning towards a net-zero carbon economy”, Specific Objective “SO 2.4 - Promoting climate change adaptation, disaster risk prevention and resilience, taking into account ecosystem-based approaches”.
