Golf course and drought, the Samnite Committee Abc steps in.
"The Municipality of Benevento, public works sector - writes Giovanni Seneca in a note - has partially considered the observations made by the Samnite Committee Acqua Bene Comune regarding the strong impact that the 18-hole golf course would have on the territory. Nevertheless, it has expressed a favorable opinion for its construction, imposing on the construction company Antum Immobiliare Spa, to 'monitor the water consumption' of the facility and 'pay attention to the local rainfall data'. It is important to reiterate - he highlights - that an 18-hole golf course, like the one intended to be built in Benevento, consumes every 24 hours the same amount of water used by a town of 8,000-9,000 people. These are the data reported by the Ispra with a report from 2019 (referred to in subsequent years). Moreover, there is no need for the Higher Institute of the Ministry of the Environment to realize the scarcity of water in southern Italy and the decrease in rainfall even in the winter months. In order to provide further elements of evaluation to the Vas office - he continues - we sent via certified email to the Municipality of Benevento the report of March 12, 2024, from the extraordinary commissioner for drought to understand what the current scenarios and future projections are regarding the 'water stress' situation that the South is undergoing".
In his opinion, therefore, "the projections also confirm for the future a trend already visible in the observations of the current climate: it rains less frequently (producing conditions of meteorological drought and an increase in associated risks). In front of these scenarios, the design of a golf course, whose grass would need to be fed by basins filled with rainwater, is an inconsiderate operation.
If rain is lacking, where will the large quantities of water required for the irrigation of the grass come from? The number of golfers in Italy (94,046 data from Federgolf 2022) is not enough to suggest that an 18-hole course could revolutionize the economy of the Sannio area, and it is not proven that the organization of golf events has brought significant economic and employment benefits to the cities that host them". For Seneca "the choices of the political decision-maker must confront the 'serious and persistent drought' and the reduction of water availability that climate changes have now made more than evident. For these reasons, we believe that the data provided by the Extraordinary Commissioner for Drought are more than enough to dissuade from the realization of the golf course and related facilities. Politics must recognize that the realization of such a work in Benevento, (near the territories of San Giorgio del Sannio and Apice, already heavily affected by water dispersion) is a reckless choice that would have strong repercussions on the availability of the resource for the coming years".