Natural hazards and territorial governance: the Return project

Natural hazards and territorial governance: the Return project presented to Italian municipalities

An initiative aimed at local authorities offers monitoring tools, risk maps and training paths to integrate prevention into territorial governance. The Return project seeks to foster collaboration between municipalities, academia and technicians to reduce vulnerability to landslides, floods and other hydrogeological risks.

Main objectives include:

• providing updated data and maps for territorial planning;
• promoting participatory procedures with citizens and local stakeholders;
• activating training programmes for municipal officials and technicians;
• sharing best practices for climate adaptation and risk mitigation measures.

The approach relies on applied research and reproducible tools, aiming to make local policies more effective in preventing damage from increasingly intense natural phenomena.