GESTIONE PARTECIPATA DELL'ACQUA E RISPOSTE ADATTIVE DEL SETTORE IRRIGUO A SEGUITO DI EVENTI DI CRISI IDRICA

Droughts and extreme weather events have been highlighting for some years many water management problems, even where water is abundant and social-economic context is advanced, as it happens at our latitudes. It’s important to adopt new, multilevel, inclusive policy-making and management approaches in order to develop governance systems suitable to face current challenges, and consequently to mediate the rising conflicting stakes on water and to make more effective the investment in technological modernization. In this context the case study of droughts events happened in Lombardy region between 2003 and 2007 turned out to be interesting. Developing a conceptual framework and making some interviews, the thesis characterizes the adaptive answer to such events from “water stakeholders” at the regional level, paying particular attention to irrigation sector. The experiences of participatory water resources management, undertaken in those years, have allowed to the system to respond in emergency, have increased knowledge and social network, have started important remarks within the irrigation sector towards upgrade of innovation. However empirical evidences show that, in order to solve the emerging conflicts and develop an integrated and sustainable water resource management, is important, on the one hand, continuing to invest in participation, on the other hand, create a more stable regulatory framework.