The ISPRA 2022 Report on Soil Consumption demonstrates how, in Italy, we continue to lose 2 square meters of soil every second despite the fact that soil provides ecosystem services that are vital for our life, security, and economic growth. In 2021, the average amount of land lost every day was 19 hectares, the largest amount in the preceding ten years. On December 5, World Soil Day, WWF Italy issues a warning: to date, 21,500 square kilometers of Italian soil are cemented, and buildings alone occupy 5,400 square kilometers, an area comparable to Liguria. From agricultural production to that of timber, from carbon storage to erosion control, from pollination to microclimate regulation, from the removal of particulates and ozone to the availability and purification of water up to the regulation of the hydrological cycle, the surface layer of the planet provides a multitude of services. Despite these vital activities, the soil continues to be invaded, waterproofed, and cemented at such an alarming rate that its consumption is regarded as one of the most worrisome occurrences in industrialized nations, including ours. According to the report, the soil lost in Italy from 2012 to the present day would have ensured the infiltration of more than 360 million cubic meters of rainwater, which, remaining on surfaces sealed by asphalt and concrete, are no longer available for groundwater recharge, as well as aggravating the hydraulic hazard of our territories, which caused 438 deaths in Italy between 2000 and 2019. (Source CNR-Irpi). ) "More than sixteen percent of Italy is in high irogeological risk zones, and six million people are directly or indirectly at danger since they live in these zones. Building should be stopped immediately if we want to avoid a repetition of the Ischia disaster. Instead, statistics show that in 2021, cement use in the area hit an all-time high during the preceding decade ", said, Italy's WWF president, Luciano Di Tizio.
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