Different challenges in different contexts: Participatory experiences and climate adaptation in Rome and Friuli Venezia Giulia

This event is part of a series of four online meetings (Peer-to-Peer webinars, running from October 2024 until April 2025) that involve the pilots of the Adaptation AGORA project, addressing key issues related to climate adaptation and citizen engagement. This series of events aims to foster the exchange of knowledge, resources, and methodologies that can facilitate public participation in Climate Adaptation Plans in different European cities, regions, and communities. 

Background

How can citizen engagement methodologies be replicated in different contexts? What challenges for citizen engagement can arise from the specific climate adaptation path of each territory? 

As part of the Adaptation AGORA project, on October 17th, an online event titled “Citizenship and Climate Adaptation: Participatory Experiences from Rome to Friuli Venezia Giulia” focused on the exploration of citizen engagement approaches adopted in the two different cases. The webinar focussed on two different case studies: Rome and Friuli Venezia Giulia.

There were two key speakers at the event:

• Edoardo Zanchini, Director of Rome Climate Office.
• Paolo De Alti, Director of the Water Resources Management Services on behalf of the Central Directorate for Environmental Defense, Energy, and Sustainable Development of the Friuli-Venezia Giulia Region.  

The webinar was held in Italian, and the recording can be found below. The key messages of the webinar can also be found written below in English.

Key messages

How can citizen engagement methodologies be replicated in different contexts? What challenges for citizen engagement can arise from the specific climate adaptation path of each territory? 

During the discussion, Edoardo Zanchini, director of the Rome Climate Office, explained how the dialogue with citizens during the development phase of Rome’s Climate Adaptation Strategy highlighted the request from part of citizens to continue the information and participation process also in the next phases of the strategy and on the identified projects and measures to be implemented. 

Paolo De Alti, Director of the Water Resources Management Services of the Friuli Venezia Giulia, explained that water resource management is one of the most pressing challenges, especially in the low Friulian plain where the shallow water table allows easy, cost-free extraction. Historically, no aqueduct was built for supply, so residents rely on personal wells, with around 50-60 thousand wells serving hundreds of thousands of people. This has led to major water loss, with around 1 billion cubic meters dispersed. The depletion of the aquifer has also allowed saltwater intrusion, harming agriculture and posing health risks for the local population, as the water is neither monitored nor certified. This phenomenon is expected to worsen due to climate change.  

The Peer-to-Peer discussion highlighted two main learnings: 

1. The need to continue citizen engagement in the implementation phase of a project: the citizens involved during the development phase of Rome’s Climate Adaptation Strategy expressed interest in continuing the participation process also in the following phases.
    
2. The wish for tailored engagement methodologies to tackle different challenges: in Rome, one challenge is maintaining a dialogue with local committees and groups advocating for specific interventions, which are more difficult to involve if not by directly addressing their requests. In Friuli Venezia Giulia water scarcity represents a problem of cultural approach and lifestyles, rather than disinformation, and it poses challenges to engage citizens and to gain their support. Tailored engagement methodologies can support the regions to address the different issues and foster behavioural change in the face of a changing climate. 

To learn more about the event and the discussion, check out the article available in English and in Italian. To continue the exchange, visit the dedicated Forum Post on the Adaptation AGORA Community Hub.