Sustainability of water and natural resources management: an integrated approach

Human and non-human induced global change is nowadays a widely accepted reality that constitutes a fundamental challenge at every scale. However, while the research of the causes and the dynamics of the several interconnected aspects of this phenomenon is in an advanced stage, the same is not true for the practical implementation and application of methodologies. Routine practices and local administrative level policies aimed at keeping a stable equilibrium between use and abuse of natural resources are often hampered by several factors among which one of the most important is the lack of tools for the integration of data. In this work a decision analysis support spatial database for the coupled management of water and natural resources is presented. The system, based on a set of dynamically evaluated environmental indicators controlled by appropriate thresholds, has been realised and tested in a portion of the Sieve river basin (Central Italy). This area represents a real challenge for the local authorities due to the presence, on the one side, of important ecosystems and water resources, as for example the large reservoir facility of Bilancino serving the municipality of Florence, and, on the other side, of advanced agricultural complexes and important transport infrastructures. In this framework a correct management of water resources is very difficult mainly due to the interactions among system variables. There is thus the need of an instrument capable of dynamically integrate contrasting views and information in a uniform system vision useful for decision and policy makers. The proposed methodology exhibits easiness of use and maintenance combined with robustness and reproducibility due to the intrinsic features of the approach based on indicators.