The responsibilities of public entities regarding the prevention and management of landslides and hydrogeological instability are significantly established by the Civil Protection Code. Among the so-called “civil protection risks,” the hydrogeological risk is included, along with seismic, volcanic, hydraulic risks, adverse weather phenomena, and others indicated in Article 16 of Legislative Decree No. 1/2018.
Civil Protection Activities
According to Article 3 of Legislative Decree No. 1/2018, “civil protection activities” are those aimed at:
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forecasting risks;
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preventing and mitigating risks;
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managing emergencies;
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overcoming emergencies.
Forecasting
Forecasting includes all activities, carried out with the involvement of individuals with scientific, technical, and administrative expertise, aimed at identifying and studying, including dynamically, possible risk scenarios for the needs of alerting the National Service, when possible, and civil protection planning.
Prevention
Prevention activities are those aimed at avoiding or reducing the possibility of damage from catastrophic events, also based on knowledge acquired through forecasting activities, particularly concerning the risk of landslides and hydrogeological instability.
Emergency Management
Emergency management includes activities aimed at ensuring rescue and assistance to populations affected by catastrophic events and animals, as well as reducing the related impact, including through urgent and essential interventions and the use of simplified procedures, along with relevant information to the public.
That said, below are the main responsibilities of the competent public entities concerning landslides and hydrogeological instability, represented by municipalities, provinces, metropolitan cities, regions, and the State.
Municipalities
Municipalities, as parts of the National Civil Protection Service according to Article 3 of Legislative Decree No. 1/2018, must oversee civil protection planning activities and the direction of rescue operations, which constitute a fundamental function under Article 12 of Legislative Decree No. 1/2018.
For the execution of these activities, municipalities are required to perform various tasks, including, in particular:
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carrying out risk prevention activities, including those related to landslides and hydrogeological instability;
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preparing municipal civil protection plans;
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activating and directing urgent interventions necessary to address emergency situations when they occur (Article 12, Paragraph 3, Legislative Decree No. 1/2018).
Provinces (Wide Areas)
Wide-area provinces, as parts of the National Civil Protection Service under Article 3 of Legislative Decree No. 1/2018, perform various functions in this area. These include:
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implementing, at the provincial level, forecasting and prevention activities, including those related to the risk of landslides and hydrogeological instability, established in regional planning, adopting related administrative measures, and particularly tasks related to data collection and processing in the provincial territory;
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preparing provincial civil protection plans;
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overseeing the preparation of urgent services, including technical ones, by their civil protection structures to be activated in emergencies (Article 11, Paragraph 1, Legislative Decree No. 1/2018).
Metropolitan Cities
Metropolitan cities are parts of the National Civil Protection Service according to Article 3 of Legislative Decree No. 1/2018. Specific tasks are assigned to metropolitan mayors, as indicated in the following paragraph 3.
Regions and Autonomous Provinces
Regions and the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano, as components of the National Civil Protection Service according to Articles 3 and 4 of Legislative Decree No. 1/2018, are responsible for implementing civil protection activities – forecasting, prevention, and mitigation of risks, emergency management, and overcoming them – according to their respective regulations and competencies (Article 4 of Legislative Decree No. 1/2018).
To this end, the regions regulate the organization of civil protection systems, ensuring the execution of related activities, and particularly the methods for forecasting and preventing risks, as well as the operation of the regional operations room, to ensure the continuous flow of information exchange with the Civil Protection Department, prefectures, delegated provinces, and municipalities.
Regions, the Autonomous Provinces of Trento and Bolzano, and the Civil Protection Department also ensure the functioning and operation of the alerting systems of the National Civil Protection Service, including those related to hydrogeological risks and landslides. This alerting system is structured in a state and regional system consisting of the tools, methods, and modalities established to develop and acquire, in real-time, knowledge, information, and assessments, where possible, even probabilistically, related to the advance warning, monitoring, and surveillance of events and the subsequent evolution of risk scenarios, in order to activate the National Civil Protection Service at various territorial levels (Article 17 of Legislative Decree No. 1/2018).
Conclusions
In conclusion, all the entities mentioned above are responsible for the prevention and management of landslides, although to varying degrees. Municipalities are the entities most exposed to liability, both with regard to prevention activities and the timely and appropriate management of landslides, as they are required to implement all necessary measures for this purpose.
