Eighteen Sardinian beaches are at risk of erosion . Because there is too much human pressure. It means an excess of tourists, sunbeds and boats at anchor. The list is contained in the Regional Strategic Document. It goes from Cagliari to Alghero, from Quartu to Sinis. Posidonia , the marine plant that we downgrade to algae, not without a certain annoyance, at the beginning of each season unleashes the ire of future bathers. But the protection of the coasts - especially those with "high criticality" such as the emergency blacklist published today in the Unione Sarda on newsstands - is a natural buffer against the sea that "eats" the sand.

The Professor

Sandro Demuro explains what is happening along our coasts,   full professor of Physical Geography and Geomorphology at the University of Cagliari. "Erosion itself - he explains - is a very natural process, along with transport and sedimentation". They are infinitesimal fragments of rock that move here and there. "However, if human presence and interventions are excessive, we are heading towards the destruction of these marine habitats". The professor does not distance himself from one point: "In the phenomenon of erosion, the wicked action of man, which combines ignorance and greed, remains culpably primary. If we do not change the paradigm and do not take into account the specificity of Sardinian beaches and natural dynamics, the damage will be enormous". Also because climate change itself, co-responsible for the sea advancing at the expense of the coast, is determined by human action. "The increase in average global temperature has as its first consequence the rising of the sea level - continues professor Demuro -, which means risk of flooding and coastal erosion".

The Municipality and the Region

Massimo Zedda announces the cleaning of the beaches for mid-April. But without touching the "algae", the mayor of Cagliari emphasizes. "We are not discovering the importance of protecting the Posidonia today. Our administration has already intervened in its time against the erosion of the Poetto: we had restored the dune cordon that today, thanks also to the revegetation, has become a dam. The effects of the wave motion are instead determined by the Marina Piccola pier, which has changed the currents". Rosanna Laconi, regional councilor for the Environment, says two things in particular. The first concerns the cleaning of the beaches. "We are working on the definition of a technical specification, which is being completed together with the guidelines. The management of the coastal strip requires the development of a complex strategy that is based on scientific knowledge, territorial participation and institutional cooperation. We cannot allow ourselves to treat our environment as an unlimited resource. Safeguarding the coasts of Sardinia means defending our identity, our economy, our future".

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