The question of what climate change and sea level rise may mean to Venice has become a vital topic of concern to Venice in Peril. The Fund remains committed to supporting research into resolving the flooding problems.

In 1998 Venice in Peril organised a symposium in London called ‘High Water warning: Cities at Risk’ to which it invited five international experts in climatic change to discuss the risks posed by rising sea levels. The final communiqué pointed out that both London and Rotterdam had spent millions to protect themselves from flooding, and it urged the Italian government to come to a speedy decision over the protection of Venice. In 2001 Venice in Peril set up a Fellowship at Churchill College, Cambridge. The mission of this project has been to provide the foundation for:

	Much better information within the international scientific community about management solutions to the environmental problems, including evaluation of those solutions already proposed (eg. the mobile barriers at the entrances to the lagoon);
	A more objective understanding among the decision takers, the Italian politicians, of the nature of the problem, the prognosis, the possible solutions and hierarchy of risk;
	The same, but among international journalists and commentators on the Venice problem.

The Cambridge Fellowship comes to a climax this September with a three-day International Discussion Meeting.

“Flooding and Environmental Challenges for Venice and its Lagoon: the State of Knowledge in 2003” - A International Discussion meeting to be held at Churchill College, Cambridge, 14-17 September 2003:

THE BACKGROUND

The unique setting of the city of Venice contributes both to its appeal and to its vulnerability to flooding and environmental degradation.

The Venetian lagoon exchanges water with the northern Adriatic Sea through three large inlets. In the winter, strong winds from the south lead to abnormally high water levels in the lagoon and, at times, extensive flooding in the city.

Such events are likely to increase in frequency and magnitude in the near future; accelerated sea level rise is expected to lead to progressively higher background water levels on which such flooding events will take place.

Within the next 100 years, it is predicted that sea level will rise by 4-6 mm per year, adding to the natural subsidence of the Venice lagoon of 1 – 1.5 mm per year. Flooding statistics from the city strongly suggest a worsening problem. In the first decade of the 20th century St. Mark’s Square flooded less than ten times per year. By the 1980’s flooding was occurring 40 times per year and since September 2000 over 40 flood events have been recorded.

The 144 cm flood of 6 November 2000, 64 cm above the surface of St. Mark’s, was one of the ten most severe events since 1900, with 93% of the city under water.

In addition, the city is surrounded by an ecosystem suffering from severe environmental degradation. Agricultural, industrial and urban wastes have caused major water quality problems in the Venice lagoon. Long jetties constructed in the inlets at the end of the 19th century have greatly reduced the import of marine sediments into the lagoon and the Brenta and Piave rivers, which used to supply fine sediments to the lagoon, have been long diverted to discharge into the sea. As a result, there is a strong net loss of sediments from the lagoon. Starved of new sediments and eroded by wave attack from northerly winds, or removed by reclamation, the lagoon wetlands had been reduced to a third of their former extent at the beginning of the twentieth century.

While there is no lack of knowledge on the environment of Venice and its lagoon, this information has not been organised and brought together in an accessible form which could hen be consulted by those interested in the ‘Venice problem’.

Such an exercise will provide the foundation for a wide-ranging debate within the international scientific community about management solutions to these environmental problems, including an evaluation of those solutions already proposed.

The Cambridge University Committee for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies (CIES) and Churchill College, Cambridge, in collaboration with the Venice in Peril Fund (the British Committee for the preservation of Venice) are undertaking a three-year research project focussing on the flooding and environmental challenges for Venice and the Venice Lagoon. The project is carried out in association with a number of Italian partners, in particular the Venice based Consortium for co-ordination of research concerning the Venice Lagoon System (CoRiLa).

Our mission is to provide an international dimension to the objective study and review of information concerning key aspects of the flooding and environmental issues relevant to Venice. The scope of the project aims to:

	Support through discussions, workshops and the International Meeting in September 2003, the exchange of reliable scientific information between researchers around the world working on similar problems to facilitate a fruitful exchange of knowledge;
	Provide a well-founded and realistic analysis of the environmental issues for Venice;
	Promote widespread recognition of the flooding issues and related environmental problems of Venice.

The safeguarding of Venice has been an on going issue since its beginnings and interventions to protect Venice in its unique setting, the Lagoon, have been undertaken for many centuries. Last century the world was awakened to the threat to the existence of Venice in the long-term by a large flood in 1966. Since then a large body of work has been on-going in Venice raising solutions to the problem of flooding and wider measures to combat issues such as environmental degradation of the lagoon system. Interventions and lagoon management have been set out in successive iterations of the special laws for safeguarding Venice (Special Law no. 171/73; 798/84; 139/92).

As you may know, the Italian Government decided on 6 December 2001 to continue with planning for a number of interventions to regulate the hydrodynamics of lagoon/sea exchanges and environmental restoration of the lagoon ecology and morphology, making this Venice in Peril initiative very timely.

Furthermore, the problems of Venice, associated safeguarding measures and other key issues are also of interest to other flood-prone urban locations worldwide.

Further information is available from venice2003@geog.cam.ac.uk

The meeting is organised by:

The Venice in Peril Fund

The Venice in Peril Fund has helped finance the restoration of twenty-three buildings, monuments and works of art throughout Venice. In 1998 The Fund organised a symposium in London called ‘High Water Warning: Cities at Risk’ at which five international experts in climatic change, discussing the risks posed by rising sea-levels, identified the extreme vulnerability of Venice. Venice in Peril now seeks to widen its remit to become an impartial, independent forum for information about the problems (ecological, hydrological, socio-economic) of Venice and its lagoon and about the solutions to those problems.

website: www.veniceinperil.org

Cambridge University – Committee for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies (CIES)-CERNET

Cambridge University contains a great wealth of expertise on a wide spectrum of environmental topics and is highly valued externally as an authoritative yet neutral setting for the debate of complex and often contentious environmental issues. CIES was established in 1993 with the primary aim of promoting links for teaching a research across disciplinary boundaries amongst the environmental research community in Cambridge. Since its inception, CIES has developed, through electronic media, networking amongst those with environmental interests; arranged interdisciplinary seminar programmes with high-profile speakers; organised events bringing together the academic community, NGOs, industry and commerce; and contributed to debates on the public understanding of science through well-received media seminars. For more information the project please contact Dr Caroline Fletcher at caf37@cam.ac.uk.

Cambridge University – Churchill College

Churchill College is one of the 31 colleges of the University of Cambridge and is the national and Commonwealth memorial to Britain’s great wartime Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill. According to Churchill’s vision, the college was created with a bias towards science, mathematics and engineering, with close links to industry and commerce. The College, housed in modern buildings, contains a high proportion of postgraduate students and supports a substantial programme of visiting fellowships.

website: www.chu.cam.ac.uk

Corila (the Venice based Consortium for co-ordination of research concerning the Venice Lagoon System)

Corila is an association with the University of Ca’Foscari of Venice, the University Institute of Architecture of Venice, the University of Padua and the National Research Committee. Funded principally by the Special |Law for Venice, Corila’s mission is to further scientific understanding of the Venice Lagoon System as regards the development of policies and decision making for the safeguarding of Venice.

website: www.corila.it