River agreement as innovative approaches in territorial governance: the Ombrone river case

In recent times, climate change is forcing communities all over the world and planners to redefine their relationships with living environments. These latter groups are also attempting to pursue the objectives of sustainability in environmental and social terms, and are experimenting with new tools for strategic planning. The River Agreement (RA) represents an integrated governance model that could be crucial for territorial governance and negotiated planning for the achievement of the criteria of the 2030 Agenda. This paper posits that the RA can be employed as a tool based on the voluntary agreement between administrations and citizens as a form of soft and shared planning for integrated management of rivers (with the objective of improving water quality and protecting against flood risks) and for defining integrated intervention actions at river basins. This paper examines the case of the Ombrone River Agreement in Tuscany, Italy, which was initiated by a local committee. The committee was able to establish networks and relationships at the local and regional scale by creating an enabling knowledge base for the care of rivers and territories. The active involvement of local communities was a crucial factor in the development of integrated policies for ecological regeneration.