Campania Region, Mountain Communities: the Council approves the bill

«Our mountains, the internal areas and the rural areas of Campania are taking on an increasingly crucial and strategic role in the vision of a sustainable future. Thanks to targeted support policies, these territories can transform themselves into real development engines“, this is what the Regional Councillor states Corrado Materacommenting with satisfaction on the bill “Amendments to the regional law of 7 May 1996, n. 11”, recently approved by the Regional Council led by the president Vincenzo DeLucaon the proposal of the Councilor Nicholas Caputo.

«In recent years – continues Matera – we have understood how fundamental it is to combat the marginalization of territories and create new growth opportunities. This means improving the quality of services for residents and enhancing the natural and environmental resources that these communities have been preserving for centuries: in this perspective, the bill approved by the Regional Council represents an important concrete step in this direction. The measure is aimed at updating a regional law in force since 1996, with the aim of adapting it to the new challenges that our mountain territories must face».

What does the bill actually provide?

• Strengthening Mountain Communities: The role of the Mountain Communities is relaunched. These entities, in fact, will be protagonists in the implementation of policies of maintenance of the territory “upstream” with the prevention of hydrogeological risk, sustainable and multifunctional management of forestry, landscape and environmental resources, and defense of the forest heritage from fires. In practice, the Campania mountain entities will be able to realize more ambitious and far-reaching projects, thanks to the new planning in the ERDF area and the greater operational capacity of the forestry construction sites.
• New Hiring: Mountain authorities will be able to proceed with new hiring, if they meet certain criteria, thus overcoming the freeze on turnover in force until now, which has reduced the number of forestry workers to a minimum. This means more human resources available for the care and maintenance of the territory.
• Stabilization of workers: Particular attention is paid to forestry workers, who until now have lived in precarious conditions, with fixed-term contracts renewed from year to year. The bill provides for the possibility of stabilizing these workers, offering them greater security and continuity of work.

«The bill is now being sent back to the Regional Council for further study – underlines Matera – not only protects and enhances our mountain areas, but restores dignity to hundreds of workers who, through their precious work, protect and care for our mountains. It offers new employment opportunities, but also recognizes the value of the work done by these workers in preserving our mountain landscapes and protecting the most fragile territories. It is a sign of strong attention to the territories and the communities that live there, a concrete commitment to a more sustainable and inclusive future. A heartfelt thank you – concludes the Regional Councilor originally from Diano Valley – goes to President Vincenzo De Luca and to the Regional Councillor for Agriculture Nicola Caputo, for having significantly addressed a very delicate matter of great importance for the whole of Campania».