Italy loses 2 square meters of soil every second.
In 2021 the average was 19 hectares of soil lost per day, the highest value in the last 10 years, according to Ispra data.
On World Soil Day, 5 December, WWF Italy raises the alarm: to date 21,500 square kilometers of Italian soil are cemented, and buildings alone occupy 5,400 square kilometres, an area equal to Liguria.
The soil lost in Italy from 2012 to today would have guaranteed the infiltration of over 360 million cubic meters of rainwater which, remaining on the surfaces waterproofed by asphalt and concrete, are no longer available for groundwater recharge, also aggravating the hydraulic hazard of our territories which from 2000 to 2019 caused 438 deaths in Italy.
"Italy is a fragile country - declares Luciano Di Tizio, President of WWF Italy -: over 16% of the territory is in areas with high hydrogeological risk and 6 million people are affected, i.e. live in areas of potential risk. In order not to repeat other dramas like the one in Ischia, the last thing we have to do is continue to build. Instead, official data tell us that in 2021 we have reached the peak of overbuilding in the area in the last 10 years." of a law on soil consumption since 2012. WWF Italy has made a request to Parliament and the Government to approve a law that prevents new constructions in areas that have remained free, stimulating the recovery of those already occupied and degraded.
In urban areas only,
