Venice Flood Control Project Will Harm Area Ecosystems, Environmental Groups Say

摘要

A €5.5 billion ($7.5 billion) project to protect the Italian city of Venice from floods will harm ecosystems in the area, Italian environmental groups say. But an Environment Ministry spokesman told BNA Sept. 28 that such concerns should be weighed against the urgency of the mission. Due to rising tides and the sinking of land underneath it, the ancient city has experienced increasingly frequent flooding that disrupts life for residents, inconveniences tourists, and damages historic buildings. The city of Venice and regional and national governments started work on the Experimental Electromechanical Module flood control technology, nicknamed Moses, in 2003. Delayed by budgetary or technical issues, Moses is now expected to go into operation in 2014 or 2015. A series of mobile gates hidden in the three main inlets to the lagoon that surrounds Venice will rise up and isolate the city anytime the sea level rise is forecast to be greater than 110 centimeters (43.3 inches). The gates are expected to last at least 100 years and to protect the city even if the sea level permanently rises as much as 60 centimeters (23.6 inches), the highest level featured in consensus climate change models for the next century. Study Forecasts Damage to Animal Habitats. But a study commissioned by the Italian environmental group Italia Nostra in partnership with six other organizations indicated worse environmental impacts from Moses than previously estimated, mainly from halting the free flow of water. If the gates were required to remain up for two to three weeks—a scenario engineers allow for—some damage to plant and animal habitats could be irreversible, Italia Nostra said. The organization said that if the problems cannot be solved, the plans should be reassessed. The Italian Ministry of Environment, which conducted its own environmental assessments of the plans, has said that the risks were being overstated. A spokesman told BNA that in most cases the gates would remain up no longer than 24 to 48 hours. The spokesman also said the project should be allowed greater environmental leeway because of its importance.