Environmental damage and environmental mediation: Italian guidelines

Environmental conflicts arise because of the possession and use of scarce resources, and, by their nature, they cannot be removed: the more we try to limit the engagement of the actors involved, the more conflicts can be intensified. Environmental mediation aims to resolve conflicts that may arise from a situation in which ordinary justice is unable to provide answers to those who believe they have been wronged. In Italy, environmental damage found its legal expression in the 1980s, with the promulgation of Law no. 349 of 1986 which, however, in article 18, limits the definition to an identification of mere economic value. Environmental damage was defined in its current meaning in art. 300 of Part IV of Legislative Decree no. 152/2006: “any significant and measurable, direct or indirect deterioration of a natural resource or of the utility provided by the latter.” For example, environmental alterations (significant and measurable) leading to the degradation of ecosystems or of health as a whole, and to damage to biodiversity, are classified as “environmental damage.” As part of the project titled “La mediazione dei conflitti ambientali”, a guideline has been drawn up with the objective of identifying a shared methodology of use for managing conflicts in the case of claimed or potential environmental damage, and for preventing damage. This first Italian guideline is a participative contribution with stakeholders, to produce an operative tool for managing and mediating environmental conflicts.