Integrating Habitat Conservation with Amenity and Recreational Uses Along an Urban Stretch of the Adige River, Northern Italy - River Conservation and Management - page 323

CHAPTER 28
Integrating Habitat Conservation with
Amenity and Recreational Uses Along
an Urban Stretch of the Adige River,
Northern Italy

Maria Giovanna Braioni 1 , Maria Cristina Villani 1 , Anna Braioni 2
and Gianpaolo Salmoiraghi 3
1 Department of Biology, University of Padova, Italy
2 Landscape architect, Verona, Italy
3 Department of Evolutionary Biology, Bologna University, Italy

Introduction

support priority habitats and species protected as
part of the Natura 2000 network designated under
the European Habitats Directive (HD, Council of
the European Communities, 1992).
Conflicts can result from competing uses of
rivers such as water abstraction for drinking water
and irrigation purposes, effluent disposal, wildlife
conservation, transport infrastructure and urban
development, construction of flood defences and
recreational activities such as boating and angling
(Boon, 1992). In urban river corridors these
conflicts are amplified and can adversely affect all
four 'ecosystem services' categories (provisioning,
regulatory, cultural, supporting services) as
described in the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
and The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
(Daily, 1997; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment,
2005; Sukhdev et al ., 2010). Consequently,
understanding how to deal with these interactions
requires good data collection and analysis. This
information needs to be supplemented by general
and local

This chapter provides an illustration of how
integrated research and evaluation techniques
can overcome the often conflicting needs and
priorities of different activities, land use and land
ownership along river corridors. The complex
inter-relationship between landscape, ecosystems,
environment and nature is a subject of current
debate in Italy (Malcevschi and Zerbi, 2007).
A good understanding of these relationships
is important if sustainable management of the
environment, safeguarding biodiversity and
restoring ecosystem functioning are to be
achieved, as required by international legislation,
recommendations and agreements (United
Nations, 1992; Aalborg Charter, 1994; Council
of Europe, 1996; Paour and Hitier, 1998; Council
of Europe and Committee of Ministers, 2008).
The need for multi-disciplinary knowledge and
understanding (Darby and Sear, 2008; Vaughan
et al ., 2009; Reyers et al ., 2010) is particularly
important

knowledge of how to maintain and

improve environmental, landscape, social and

for urban river corridors that also