University of Brescia Sets Partnership for Environmental Research at Lake Garda
The Lake Garda could become, for the Università Cattolica del Brescia, a place of systematic scientific research and practical application of findings, thanks also to the network of contacts at various levels that connected entities with the Consorzio Garda Uno—especially the Comunità del Garda—can activate both in Italy and abroad in fields related to environmental and landscape protection.
A meeting in this sense was held in recent days at the headquarters of the Azienda Speciale Garda Uno in Portese di San Felice del Benaco. For the University, besides Dr. Mauro Salvatore, Director of the Università Cattolica del Brescia, attendees included Prof. Ballardin, a lecturer at the Statale di Milano, Faculty of Agriculture, and head of the course in Physics of the Earth and Environment at the Catholic University of Brescia.
Prof. Gianfranco Bertazzi was responsible for the Desenzano Meteorological Institute and in charge of a contract for physics exercises for students at the Università Cattolica. For the Azienda Speciale Garda Uno, alongside Dr. Walter Romagnoli, head of stakeholder relations and marketing activities promoting the company’s image, there was General Director Arch. Franco Richetti, as well as technical consultants Alessandro Castagnoli and Adalberto Da Casto.
Objectives of the meeting and future perspectives
The purpose of this initial meeting was to explore the possibility of developing synergistic actions between education and field applications, allowing students specializing in Physics of the Earth and Environment to combine theory and practice. Thanks to his expertise in pollution control and biological impact, alongside the experience gained from the Fondazione Lombardia per l’Ambiente, Prof. Ballardin and his team can bring the competencies necessary for proper environmental management to the newly established university program.
The Consorzio Garda Uno can support a systematic approach through its well-established knowledge related to the integrated water cycle of the Garda basin, consisting of purification, collection, and distribution of water resources.
Environmental issues addressed and upcoming developments
During the meeting, some discussions were also held on key environmental challenges such as the sustainability of watercourse management, modeling, water monitoring from the perspective of certain chemical elements like nitrogen and sulfur, technological problems, thematic environmental cartography, and sediment analysis.
These are certainly complex topics, which, given the shared interest in fostering effective collaboration between the two entities, will be further explored in the next technical-operational meeting to be held at the University of via Trieste headquarters.
