Venice Lagoon

Thousands of years of human modifications and interventions shaping the landscape have left it with numerous challenges including extensive loss of salt marsh quality and quantity, erosion, and large volumes of sediments exported to the sea. These problems are exacerbated by urban encroachment, erosion from shipping and local water traffic and canal dredging. 

Administratively, the lagoon is under the remit of the regional government authority for public works, the Provveditorato Interregionale per le Opere Pubbliche per il Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige e Friuli Venezia Giulia. While dredging and construction of areas to contain sediment infill is publicly funded, regenerative revegetation and other restoration measures would not otherwise receive financial support. The Landscape Finance Lab, as part of the EU Horizon WaterLANDS programme, is working with the lead implementing partner We are here Venice to design and implement a financial mechanism to support the local restoration efforts in designated areas of reconstructed salt marsh in the central lagoon - encouraging revegetation by appropriate salt marsh species and improving ecological performance to maximise biodiversity and carbon sequestration among other ecosystem services.  

‘Venezia è laguna’ (“Venice is its lagoon”) is the motto of We are here Venice, to reinforce awareness that the fate of the city and the lagoon are intertwined. In parallel to the physical interventions, the project is also working hard on fostering a greater public and political understanding of the value of the lagoon’s natural capital through a series of stakeholder engagement and public awareness initiatives.