Stromboli Volcanological Guides: “Protect the territory immediately”

“The storm of 12 August that hit Stromboli took on a dramatic dimension due to a known and avoidable situation”. This is the denunciation of the mountain and volcanological guides who operate on Stromboli. “The storm led to the impracticability of the hiking trails, the Nature Trail and the La Bronzo mule track, today the only routes that allow you to observe volcanic activity (290 meters independently, 400 accompanied by the guides) – they explain – The consequent impact on tourism, the main source of livelihood for inhabitants and workers, is dramatic and adds to the other catastrophic event that affected the island just two months ago when, on May 25, much of the northern slope of the volcano was damaged at the hands of man by a fire that broke out during the filming of a Rai fiction, where special pyrotechnic effects were used which, due to the sirocco wind, became uncontrollable, causing the inevitable, that is, the loss of vegetation throughout the slope north, skirting the town of Stromboli “. “The storm of 12 August took on catastrophic dimensions precisely due to the damage to the vegetation burned two months ago during the filming – they say – The need for an urgent comparison to evaluate possible interventions on the slopes now devoid of a root system of the vegetation, which would have mitigated the hydrogeological risk of the summer rains, it had been brought to the attention several times by the Guides, by the inhabitants and by the associations active in the area. The drama of today’s situation is a direct consequence of the indifference towards this critical situation “. “The volcanological guides operating on the island of Stromboli are once again faced with a situation that does not allow them to carry out their work, already in difficulty after the explosion of 2019 and the consequent closure of the summit area”, they denounce yet. “Already on that occasion the Guides had to find immediate and alternative solutions for excursion itineraries, to respond to the continuous demand for visits, aware that Stromboli plays a fundamental role as a tourist attraction, they fly to all the other Aeolian islands – add the guides -Today they find themselves once again in a situation of interruption of their work, already complicated after the fire a few months ago and resumed with difficulty through the continuous commitment on the territory to secure the paths, practicable under their accompaniment, until at 400 meters, but also in autonomy, up to an altitude of 290 meters “. “Given the catastrophic situation today, the Guides urgently request the intervention of the competent institutions and bodies (Department of Agriculture, Rural and Territorial Development, Department of Rural and Territorial Development, sector of the management of nature reserves protected areas – Management body of the Oriented and Integral Nature Reserve “Stromboli and Strombolicchio Island”). “To respond concretely to this dramatic situation, which involves all the inhabitants and workers of the island, who from the early hours have worked to save what can be saved, with the few means available on the island, propose a series of measures, to be implemented immediately and in the long term, to protect the territory of Stromboli on which the spotlights unfortunately turn on only during the summer season – still say the Volcanological guides of Stromboli – The protection of a volcanic territory, vulnerable and subject to events of different nature, co me that of the Stromboli Island Nature Reserve, cannot survive if neglected as it has been in recent decades “. And here is that the guides make a series of proposals:” Immediate restoration of the accessibility of the 2 hiking trails of the island, that is, the Nature Trail and the Mulattiera, currently uninhabitable and dangerous, in order not to interrupt the hiking activity, the main attraction of the island. This would allow people to reach an altitude of 290 meters even independently; Urgent opening of fire-break lines and the reconstitution of the vegetation cover of the territory with native tree species; Regular and scheduled maintenance of the territory and of the path network; Reopening of the ancient public roads that connected the town with the Nature Trail, which can thus be escape routes, fire lines and increase the path network for the hiker who moves independently; Need for an immediate intervention team on the territory, suitable equipment for evacuation and rescue and to have a temporary reception facility; Restoration of signs and equipped areas along the paths; Long-term planning of protection and awareness-raising interventions to preserve the territory and concretely think about the future of the Island of Stromboli and constant and profitable dialogue with the institutions to create periodic reports on the conditions of the territory “.