Between fragility & opportunity

This book addresses the deltaic territories in Europe that are both fragile and affected by important climate changes. These characteristics, one inherent to the regions under study, the other caused by their transformation over time, are producing significant effects on these places and on the ways they are inhabited. The book is organised in two main parts. The first part proposes an analysis of the most important features of some of the European Deltas, and compares them, in order to identify their common as well as specific and particular problems. The Atlas refers to the respective deltas of the Danube, the Ebro, the Guadalquivir, the Nemunas , the Po, the Rhine and the Rhone. The analytical criteria taken into consideration, being the most important criteria used, makes special reference to the ecological problems affecting these territories (mainly linked to dangers from the water and from climate change), but it also examines the specific social and economic impacts deriving from these problems. Biography and the comparison of maps are the tools used to better understand these deltaic territories. What will the Po river delta region look like in 2100? Envisioning such a scenario is the key endeavour of the second part of this volume. As with many other deltaic territories, the Po delta is a fragile region, posing both social paradoxes and ecological dilemmas. This part argues that today, at the beginning of the 21st century, it is of the utmost importance to envision the fate of similar territories, affected by the drastic phenomena of ongoing climate change. This part aims at dealing with both the critical conditions and the potential resources of the Po Delta region, in order to define new visions for the territory and to try to overcome its current weakness.