Italy launches online environmental Knowledge Platform

12 August 2016 The Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea (Directorate for Sustainable Development, Environmental Damage, European Union and International Affairs) has produced a Knowledge Platform, which serves as a valuable online resource for sharing best environmental practices and climate-related techniques and approaches.

The European Commission has funded or co-funded many significant projects through a range of programmes, including LIFE, and these have demonstrated a wide variety of innovative environmental methodologies. They have moreover contributed to the knowledge base for implementing EU legislation as well as informing policy-making.

The Knowledge Platform was set up to provide opportunities for those who have developed good practices, and thus added to this knowledge base, to network with potential replicators. The platform is aimed at all public and private entities that plan to invest in the environment, using replicable methods, techniques and models that have already been tested at the local level.

The online resource is linked to the portal of the Italian Ministry of Environment, which contains the technical detail of these good practices and their impact. Information is divided into a range of subject areas: waste; nature; biodiversity; water; urban environment; climate; energy; and soil and efficient use of resources. The website features a section on national and EU environmental legislation, and one on funding programmes that provide grants for environmental and climate-related actions. The platform will also allow visitors to stay informed about the latest environmental technologies in key areas.

The main focus, however, is the transfer of good practices, promoting proven solutions that can be easily implemented by local and regional authorities and research institutes. The goal is to ensure that investments have the maximum environmental impact and that initiatives are well coordinated. The platform also aims to encourage private-public partnerships and raise awareness of key issues across all sections of society.