Spatial Analysis of the Vulnerability to Flooding in the Rural Context: The Case of the Emilia Romagna Region

Abstract

The adversities of climate change represent a serious risk factor on both food production, rural territories and landscapes. In light of these irreversible trends, the process of adaptation of the rural territory is a necessary step, in order to increase its climate resilience. In this study, the vulnerability assessment was the tool used to evaluate the specific phenomenon of “flooding and backwatering” in the case study of Emilia Romagna region (Italy). The approach was based on the IPCC’s risk analysis methodology, populated by different layers regarding specifical proxies related to the adaptive capacity and the sensitivity of the territory to water stagnation, then we assessed with the normalization process of the different information levels. The aim of the research consisted in the realization of a regional map of the vulnerability to floods and backwaters, in order to rank the territory to this specific phenomenon. The final result could be useful both for the relationship with planning choices and for local-based actions in agricultural policies that in Italy are taken at regional level.