Venice, 20 February 2026 – The Pact for ecological restoration actions in the Venice Lagoon was signed today at Palazzo X Savi, headquarters of the Lagoon Authority. The document represents a shared commitment aimed at strengthening cooperation among institutions, the scientific community, civil society organisations and citizens in order to enhance the resilience of lagoon ecosystems.
The First Signatories of the Pact are:
- Lagoon Authority (President: Roberto Rossetto)
- North Adriatic Sea Port Authority – Ports of Venice and Chioggia (President: Matteo Gasparato)
- CORILA – Consortium for coordination of research activities concerning the Venice lagoon system (President: Francesco Musco)
- CMCC – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change (President: Antonio Navarra)
The initiative was developed within the framework of the European project REST-COAST – Large-scale RESToration of COASTal ecosystems through rivers-to-sea connectivity (Horizon 2020 – Green Deal) and represents one of its main outcomes in terms of governance tools. The Pact is conceived as a guidance tool to guide ecological restoration policies and practices over the medium to long term, in line with the European Green Deal and the EU strategies on biodiversity and climate adaptation.
The document supports a transition in lagoon governance, promoting a model based on stable institutional cooperation, integration between scientific and technical expertise and decision-making responsibilities, and continuous monitoring of interventions and their effects on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Within this framework, representatives of civil society organisations are brought together in a permanent consultation platform dedicated to lagoon restoration (referred to within the project as “CORE-PLAT”), contributing to the definition of priorities, the sharing of knowledge and the assessment of the outcomes of implemented actions, thereby strengthening participation and the legitimacy of decisions.
The Pact also aims at fostering the integration of ecological restoration best practices, developed and validated within the REST-COAST project, into the planning frameworks and technical specifications of current and future lagoon interventions.
Matteo Gasparato, President of the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority, stated: “Venice is its port and the port is Venice. This means that safeguarding the lagoon and developing port activities are not alternative objectives, but parts of the same institutional responsibility. The lagoon is an entirely anthropogenic environment, shaped over more than a thousand years of interventions aimed at protecting the city and enabling navigation. Today, our task is to continue this history with technological, scientific and environmental tools appropriate to the 21st century. The interventions currently promoted by the Port Authority, aimed at increasing nautical accessibility while safeguarding the ecosystem, must be understood within this perspective. The maintenance dredging projects currently undergoing Environmental Impact Assessment, developed within the framework of the Channeling project and in accordance with the Pact, make a genuine contribution to the reconstruction and rebalancing of lagoon morphology. The management of hydrodynamic flows, the proper placement of sediments and the construction of morphological structures, together with the definition of cross-sections compatible with the needs of the port system, significantly reduce erosion phenomena and restore a more coherent balance between navigable channels and salt marshes, within an active maintenance approach.”
Roberto Rossetto, President of the Lagoon Authority – New Water Authority, stated: “The ongoing climate change and the increasing occurrence of extreme events are progressively affecting life on our planet. Following the Acqua Granda flood of 1966, the Implementation Programme prepared by the former Water Authority led to the implementation of the Venice and Lagoon Safeguard works. After a long and demanding approval process, the MOSE system was completed. Since 2020, MOSE has been operated 151 times and we are now in the sixth safeguarding season. Thanks to this complex system of works, Venice – the most beautiful and fragile city in the world – is also the most protected. However, the challenges we face today are far more complex and articulated. The erosion of morphological structures and lagoon seabeds favours the colonisation of alien species, such as the blue crab and the comb jelly, threatening the lagoon ecosystem and the survival of native species, with an increasingly tangible risk of loss of biodiversity. Within the REST-COAST Project – Large-scale RESToration of COASTal ecosystems through rivers-to-sea connectivity (Horizon 2020 – Green Deal), scientific analyses have addressed these issues and outlined guidelines for integrating ecological restoration best practices into the lagoon context. It is essential that we work together to implement a specific ecological strategy for the Venice Lagoon. By signing this document, we promote institutional cooperation that integrates scientific and institutional expertise, creating a virtuous governance model to be preserved and strengthened over time. The governance of the lagoon is currently undergoing significant change with the establishment of the Venice Lagoon Authority – New Water Authority, which is equipped with a Management Committee comprising the four competent Ministries, the Veneto Region, the Metropolitan City and the Municipality of Venice, ensuring the shared definition of objectives and strategies, as well as a Technical Committee responsible for the approval of interventions. In addition, the Authority has established a high-level Scientific Committee to guide decision-making in a manner that is appropriate, forward-looking and firmly grounded in scientific evidence. In cooperation with the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority and the other Public Administrations of the territory, and with the support of research institutes, the Authority for the Lagoon will work to develop and propose solutions capable of safeguarding Venice, the lagoon’s traditional activities and the very life of its communities.”
Francesco Musco, President of CORILA, stated: “The signing of the Pact marks an important step towards building truly integrated governance of the lagoon system. Venice and its lagoon form a complex ecosystem, where environmental, infrastructural, economic and social components continuously interact. Their management requires permanent scientific oversight effectively supporting public decision-making.
CORILA was established, under the supervision of the Ministry of University and Research, precisely for this purpose: to coordinate scientific research on the lagoon system, make it operational and place it at the service of institutions. Through collaboration among its members — Iuav University of Venice, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, CNR and OGS — CORILA integrates multidisciplinary expertise in territorial analysis and planning, environmental economics, physical and ecosystem processes, oceanography and advanced modelling. This integration makes it possible to translate data, monitoring activities and predictive scenarios into actual assessment tools and effective support for policy-making. At a historical juncture marked by climate change, sea-level rise and the morphological evolution of the lagoon, decisions concerning lagoon management — taken on the basis of the best available knowledge — must be continuously verified and, where necessary, adjusted over time. Investing in scientific research, which keeps knowledge at the state of the art, is a necessary condition for guiding effective and sustainable long-term interventions, thereby fostering a genuine decision-support system for public authorities. We are grateful to the Lagoon Authority for having shared with us the entire REST-COAST project pathway as a partner, and to the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority for its active collaboration. The Pact positively seals this journey and strengthens this perspective: institutions and the scientific community share responsibilities and objectives, supporting the development of an adaptive governance model grounded in knowledge, continuous monitoring and evaluation of the impacts of implemented actions, while engaging with citizens in a structured and effective manner. CORILA will continue to operate as a coordination platform between research and public administrations, also developing dialogue tools involving all social stakeholders, so that the safeguarding of the Venice Lagoon can ensure ecological resilience, territorial safety and prospects for inclusive and sustainable development.”
Antonio Navarra, President of the CMCC Foundation, stated: “Climate sciences play a crucial role in supporting effective institutional dialogue capable of involving policy-makers, local communities and stakeholders in designing solutions for the future of the Venice Lagoon. The signing of the Pact is a highly significant moment for CMCC, as it demonstrates that an advanced scientific institution not only provides cutting-edge knowledge to support decision-making processes, but also actively works to ensure that such knowledge finds the most appropriate application within the specific social, economic and environmental context. Indeed, the integration of scientific knowledge, coastal restoration best practices and innovative planning tools makes it possible to design interventions tailored to the specific needs of the territory and consistent with the challenges posed by climate change. The climate and environmental risk assessment models employed within the REST-COAST project, together with strengthened in situ monitoring and the use of artificial intelligence, are the result of applying the most advanced technologies in this field of research. They provide highly detailed data on the lagoon ecosystem, supporting both risk assessment and the evaluation of adaptation measures that can be planned and implemented. Alongside these tools, co-design processes make it possible to align scientific findings with the priorities expressed by all stakeholders, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of decision-making processes. The REST-COAST experience demonstrates that the stable integration of multidisciplinary scientific research, institutional expertise and stakeholder engagement generates innovative solutions capable of ensuring a safer, more sustainable and more climate-resilient future for the Venice Lagoon.”