On Sunday 12th of March, the event ‘Re-imagine Winter’, organised by The Outdoor Manifesto, took place with a large participation. The event was carried out at the same time in eleven different locations along Italy, involving over 20 associations operating in the Alps and Apennines.
The associations Salviamo l’Orso and Stazione Ornitologica Abruzzese ONLUS, joined by Mountain Wilderness, Lipu Abruzzo, Associazione Altura and Appennino Ecosistema, participated in the initiative by walking the distance between the Santo Spirito junction and Colle Civita in Roccamorice.
WHY WE JOINED THE NATIONAL MOBILISATION
- to reiterate the urgency of rethinking the current winter tourism system, in the light of ongoing climate change., today focused almost exclusively on the monoculture of downhill skiing and ski lifts, which must rely on millions of euros in public funding to continue to exist;
- because we believe in the need for everyone to defend the landscape and ecosystems, for the sake of fauna and ourselves, without adding infrastructure that destroys natural habitats of inestimable value;
- because we believe that it is now more important than ever to make the voice of those fighting for the protection of the environment and biodiversity heard, in the light of the 6 March 2023 ruling by the Council of State that overturned the Abruzzo Regional Administrative Tribunal’s decision that had rejected the new Ovindoli ski-lifts right in the middle of the Sirente Velino Regional Natural Park, sweeping away hectares of protected territory that will never be returned.
Despite the gloomy weather and the snow that has melted in the last two weeks, which turned the snowshoe hike into a walk, the participants appreciated the historical and identity landscape of the Mother Mountain, which wicked and obsolete ‘development policies’ would like to subject to the heavy expansion of the Passolanciano-Majelletta ski basin for over 20 million euros of public funds, to the detriment of the provision or improvement of essential services, the lack of which is the main reason for the exodus from the small mountain municipalities.
This and other interesting considerations emerged in a profound debate that took place during the event inside a dry-stone hut or tholos, a symbolic element of that side of the Maiella and of the ancestral relationship between local communities and nature.
Thanks are due to all participants and to the Terrae Eremis agriturismo for the warm welcome.
