Toscolano Maderno Orders Cleanup of Abandoned Olive Groves to Protect Landscape

Unconditional fight against abandoned olive groves. This has been declared by the municipal administration of Toscolano Maderno, which, through an ordinance signed in recent days by Mayor Paolo Elena, calls on owners of uncultivated and neglected olive groves to bring them back to a dignified condition.

The mayor of Toscolano Maderno, in his capacity as local Civil Protection and health authority, has established that “the owners of the olive groves or those holding rights thereto must carry out the necessary cultivation work according to the principles of agricultural technique for all olive groves in the municipal territory.”

Reasons for the ordinance

The peculiar measure is motivated by a series of reasons, foremost among them the sad sight of the very high number of olive groves in Toscolano Maderno that have lain fallow for years and are invaded by weeds.

“This circumstance,” states the municipal ordinance, “can lead to pathogens, both animal and fungal, causing severe damage to cultivated olive groves and, in general, to other crops. The neglected areas can also promote the development of fires, posing a danger to residents as well.”

The agricultural activity that over the centuries has embedded the Alto Garda region with numerous and characteristic olive groves is now in significant decline due to operational difficulties and limited profitability, “but it remains – as stated in the ordinance – the only and irreplaceable method for safeguarding the environment and the landscape.”

And for the Garda landscape, the olive tree is a fundamental and highly distinctive element.