The environmental sustainability programme conducted by EUROJERSEY in coordination with WWF Italy has entered a new stage and an international awareness campaign has been launched for the requalification of water courses and the restoration of their ecological continuity.
Today more than ever, rivers are under pressure, threatened by floodplain occupation, canalisation brought about by increasingly onerous hydraulic works, nutrient pollution, pesticides from farming practices, and hazardous substances such as heavy metals and chemical compounds.
Other impediments to river continuity include full or partial barriers and dams that have a devastating impact on the aquatic environment: they prevent fish migration and repopulation, reduce the river’s sand, gravel, silt and clay transport capacity, and, in doing so, contribute to lowering the river bed and cause the coastline to retreat. Moreover, the lowering of the bed enables the salt wedge to penetrate farther inland, with detrimental effects on farming activities.
EUROJERSEY views the project carried out with WWF Italy as an important opportunity to raise public awareness of the importance of preserving river integrity, thereby ensuring the survival of our natural and cultural heritage.
