Praised by senators of the PD (but certainly also appreciated by many others of different political backgrounds), at the end of the legislature the Senate fired the new text of the law that should modify the law on National Parks (which will however be ratified by the new Parliament). Praised, yes, but, one could say, much ado about nothing: we speak of everything less than Nature.
From the number of members of the Boards of Directors, rightly reduced (for which the environmental associations have protested, despite having other problems to deal with), to the government appointment of the Presidents (which is irrelevant, if not for the world of national politics that will have other places of power are available for friends of friends), hunting, obviously still strictly prohibited in the Parks, but also in their external areas, even giving decision-making power to ISPRA (it would have been just a bargaining power), when hunting is in case we should have talked about opening inside, not closing outside!
In the press releases of the politicians who have dealt with this law (while not understanding anything about Nature or having very different ideas than its conservation), it boasts the overcoming of 10% of protected nature in Italy as an almost unique case in the world: of course, with the usual Italian trick of making people believe that what is not protected at all is protected! That is, by drawing lines on the maps beyond which the only hyper-protected thing is the fauna, while everything that in the rest of the world in the Parks is untouchable, we are allowed: forest exploitation and roads, mining, wind and photovoltaic plants. , tourist facilities: everything as and worse than before, being in many cases the same Parks to provide and / or authorize these exploits and these works!
The entry of agricultural associations into the Council is a novelty: quite right, given the fact that our Parks are not truly protected areas. But the most scandalous thing is the fact of having granted the Parks "royalties" on the possible exploitation of water and extractive resources: a real contradiction in terms for a protected area! Which, rather than anti-ecology (it is obvious that the Parks will have every interest in authorizing exploitation, thus transforming themselves even more than they already are in mere industrial agencies!) Is anti-democratic, as the right to exploit this is taken away from the Municipalities which, at least in fact, belongs to him and what if ever should be given to him as representatives of the local populations and as compensation for the constraints of the Park.
All that remains is to hope that the next legislature will prove wiser and more lover of Nature than the past one and the last government that represented it, which, just to show that Nature has also dealt with Nature, has turned out to be considered to save the salaries of the Presidents of the National Parks that the previous government had rightly taken away from them. This thanks to the help of Federparchi and some Senators, arguing that without those salaries the Parks would not have been able to function.
But the Presidents of the Parks are all, or almost all, retirees of the State or former politicians, therefore already well paid with their pensions and various prebends (without ignoring that all their expenses for service reasons are in any case reimbursed as institutional). So, for what reason this choice, if not to please the various friends of friends? Here is an expense that could have been cut, or at least reduced, and did not want to cut it.
Meanwhile, the Parks are languishing for lack of funds to preserve fauna, forests and mountains. This is why there is never money and no one moves, neither WWF nor Federparchi nor Legambiente, nor other associations. In the meantime, for this it will be enough to impose constraints (which is customary in Europe to protect the social good, but made to pay to individuals), not giving a damn about democracy and respect for the private rights of rich and poor. A scandal within a scandal!
Frank Zunino
AIW General Secretary
(January 3, 2013)
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