The Italian Survey on ICT in Environmental and Sustainability Research within ICT-ENSURE: Experiences and Lessons Learned

Abstract

Within the Project ICT-ENSURE, the survey of Italian programmes and projects regarding ICT in environmental and sustainability research was coordinated by the Institute of Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment (IREA) of the National Research Council (CNR), making research activities focused on the development and testing of methodologies and techniques for observing and monitoring the environment and its changes. Participation in ICTENSURE allowed reviewing the state-of-the-art in research programmes and projects about ICT for environmental and sustainability in Italy, a field where the main funding resources in the sector come from the European Commission. The main role in Italy is played by some Ministries, regional programmes and foundations but a specific focus on this subject is missing. Nevertheless, many projects are performed by Italian bodies: from the review made within ICT-ENSURE, we found that they are mainly addressed (limited) to (wireless) monitoring and communication systems, to (geo-)web sites and decision support systems. This contribution is aimed at describing the work done within the survey and to provide some critical comments with respect to the present situation in Italy and the future perspectives and risks.